Tibetan Painted Upright Cabinet

Influenced by 18th and 19th-century monastic painted wood furniture and panels, this early 20th-century Tibetan cabinet is precisely decorated in relief in a technique of incised and painted gesso on wood ground. The cabinet front is divided into seven panels, each coated with bright red lacquer and painted with diamond medallions of delicate trailing vines. The upper two panels serve as doors and are painted with the jewel of desire (cintamani) at the center, a Buddhist symbol of the enlightened mind and the importance of teaching. The middle three panels serve as drawers that open by simple brass pulls. The cabinet front is further decorated with painted gold scrollwork and a colorful outer border.