Tibetan Painted Longevity Box

This beautiful late 19th-century Tibetan box has an unusual trapezoidal form and is highly decorated in the Sino-Tibetan style in a palette of red, orange, yellow and green. The scene painted on the front of the box is a variation of a traditional narrative motif conveying longevity and serenity. Depicted as a Buddhist arhat, an old man sits in meditation beneath a pine tree, draped in flowing robes and seated before an array of auspicious symbols. The sides are painted with large flower blossoms and floral scrollwork trails around each painted scene. Years of use have imparted a beautifully aged patina to this storied box, traceable inside and out.

Deaccessioned from the MacLean Collection of Asian Art.

Minor wear to lacquer finish.