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3. Rabbit Design Lacquer Trunk China 15th – 16th century AD. 25 in x 18 in x 11 in (64 x 18 x 28 cm) |
A lacquered leather trunk with decorative iron fittings, similar to a related example in the collection of Newark Museum, Newark, New Jersey. Found in Tibet, such lacquered leather trunks were presumably made in Western China in pairs, one trunk secured on either side of the pack frame on a pack animal. Some of these decorated pieces of travel gear appear to have left stored for centuries in Tibetan storerooms, where the arid climate at those high elevations allowed such objects to remain in good condition almost indefinitely. This trunk is illustrated on page 12 of “Genghis Khan and The Mongol Empire”, and is one of a group of four items I loaned to that exhibition. Detail: close-up view Detail: close-up view |