Green Painted Tibetan Altar Cabinet - 19th Century

This antique Tibetan altar cabinet is polychromed with original floral decoration. It dates to the 19th century and would once have been one of a pair, as such, it is handed with a top edge only on the right side. 

This cabinet is a classic example of a 19th century Tibetan altar cabinet. Our team painstakingly restored this elegant piece in our Wiltshire workshops revealing the beautiful painting underneath. The flowers are stylised lotus blossoms, symbols of rebirth, fertility and longevity.

Tibetan altar cabinets became more prominently used in Tibet from the 19th century onwards - Before this, chests were the most common form of furniture in Tibet. Cabinets like this were constructed from cedar or pine and painted using mineral pigments. They were often used as family altars & were used to store religious scrolls, silk ceremonial clothes, family jewelry, and yak butter used in lamps. Often people would gift painted furniture to temples as offerings.

Dimensions:

112 x 45 x 97 (wxdxh cms)

References:

For a similar example see Wooden Wonders: Tibetan Furniture in Secular and Religious Life by Kamansky (plate 96)

See Tibetan Furniture: Identifying · Appreciating · Collecting by Chris Buckley, (figure 133) for a similar example. 

For further information on Tibetan symbolism, see Tibetan Buddhist Symbols by R Beer. 

 

From Tibet

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