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Quiver and Arrows
Tibetan, 17th–18th century
Leather, iron, gold, silver, wood, shellac, pigments,
cane or bamboo, feathers, textile
Quiver, L. 18½ in. (47 cm), W. 10 5/8 in. (27 cm); arrows, L. 35 3/8 in. (89.9 cm)
On loan courtesy of the National Museum of Scotland,
Royal Museum, Edinburgh (1927.321.A–O)
cat. no. 96

This beautifully decorated quiver is of the same form and construction as the adjacent example, but its style of decoration is different and suggests a slightly later date. The designs are painted in gold on a black ground, rather than executed in gold leaf with designs painted in black lines, producing a more painterly effect. The quiver is unusual in retaining a full set of arrows, which have cane or bamboo shafts, ivory nocks, and iron arrowheads of several different shapes and are fletched with feathers. The shaft of one arrow is braided with strips of silk of five different colors. Arrows adorned in this way are used in marriage, divination, and long-life ceremonies.

all text & images © Metropolitan Museum of Art


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