A GILT AND LACQUERED ‘DRAGON’ CHEST, TIBET, 18TH-19TH CENTURY
Lot 52 - FAS1025

Published: Spink, The Mirror of Mind, Art of Vajrayana Buddhism, 1995, p. 90, item 57.

The large wooden chest finely painted in gilt and polychrome pigments on a cotton ground with a central cartouche enclosing a front-facing dragon with piercing eyes, and Buddhist emblems including a conch, the eternal knot, and a kalasha amid flowers and lingzhi-shape clouds, all backed by interlocking sets of foliage framed by foliate scrolls outlined in gesso, all within a band of lobed circles centered by stylized flowerheads continuing onto the side of the cover.

Provenance: Spink, London, 13 June 1995. Collection of Nicholas Squire, Suffolk, United Kingdom, acquired from the above and thence by descent. A copy of the receipt from Spink, London, dated 13 June 1995, and stating a purchase price of GBP 7,200 or approx. EUR 22,500 (converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing), accompanies the lot. Nicholas John Squire (1949-2024) was a British solicitor who assembled a fine collection Buddhist and Himalayan art, acquired in the 1990s through Spink & Son and Ashencaen & Leonov.
Condition: Overall good condition with expected wear, traces of use, light soiling and minor water stains, minor touchups to lacquer, small repairs to the iron fittings and wood, surface scratches, small nicks, one narrow side with remnants of adhesive. Overall displaying exceptionally well.

Dimensions: Size 141.3 x 72.5 x 47.2 cm

The narrow sides covered in cotton and painted with shou characters and the top covered in black lacquer with scrolling clouds and shou-symbols showing through the surface. The corners and lock mounted with iron fittings.

As noted by Luca and Camilla Corona (Wooden Wonders: Tibetan Furniture in Secular and Religious Life, Chicago, 2004, p. 48), “[t]hese storage boxes are cuboids, with straight sides, lids of which are attached to small side sections, with the main decoration on the front panel continuing on to the front part of the lid.” During the time of stability within Tibet under the rule of the Fifth Dalai Lama (late 17th century), trade and relations with the Manchu rulers of China flourished, “[g]ifts flowed in from Mongol and Manchu patrons, and Chinese brocades became the predominant source of inspiration for the design vocabulary of the boxes, which were in turn used to store the same brocades” (ibid., p. 51). This design layout, resembling a carpet, is a fundamental approach to decoration in Central Asia (in the widest sense), although the design elements of the textile pattern and borders are based immediately on Chinese models.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Bonhams New York, 13 September 2011, lot 1035
Price: USD 8,750 or approx. EUR 10,500 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A double dragon storage chest, Tibet, 17th/18th century
Expert remark: Compare the closely related form, manner of painting, motifs, and size (147.3 x 48.3 x 68.6 cm).

Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Bonhams New York, 13 September 2011, lot 1020
Price: USD 12,500 or approx. EUR 15,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A storage chest, Tibet, 16th/17th century
Expert remark: Compare the closely related form and manner of painting with similar dragon cartouche to the front. Note the size (113 x 40.6 x 55.9 cm) and earlier dating.