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Can anyone tell me anything at all about this piece? Has anyone seen anything like it? I will include what little I do know about it below:

I purchased this Tibetan Wood and Silver Dragon Wall Hanging from an antique store in Scottsdale, AZ. They informed me that they originally acquired it from an estate in Tucson, AZ. I probably spent way too much for this piece, but it is like nothing I have ever seen before. It is a Tibetan polychrome 3-dimensional wood carving of a dragon descending from the sky through the clouds. It has a very ornate silver frame that depicts a total of 54 different creatures (both mythical and real). I cannot seem to take a photo of this piece that even remotely captures its detail and beauty. I have never seen anything like it before, and as of yet, I have not been able to find anyone else that has seen anything like it either. The piece has accumulated a fair amount of dust over time, and there are several places where the lacquer finish has chipped off. Other than that, the piece is in very good condition.
Dimensions: 24”H x 10.5”W x 1.5”thick

This has proven to be one of the most difficult items in my collection to photograph. I have taken many different photos, but nothing I do seems to come close to its true beauty. I know that sounds cliche, but it is true. Thanks for looking,

James

Here are a few Close up photos of the mythical beasts on the ornate Silver frame. One is a dragon, and the other looks like it might be a dragon and maybe a Foo Dog.

Looks like a Rhino, a bird, and a Ram.

Out of professional curiosity, what is the name of the antique store in Scottsdale? I own an Asian antique store in Scottsdale. You can e-mail me if you don't want to post it publicly.

James,

Welcome to Forum!

Handsome carving. My guess is Chinese and was panel (or part) set in to furniture frame, such as bed - very nice one. Would think middle 19th century or earlier.

Good luck,
Cal

Interesting piece - very, very beautiful. Wish it was on my wall!

The only one things about it that confuses me, is that the carving itself seems more Chinese then Tibetan and looks VERY much like this southern chinese carving below (window panel actually) which I sent out to a customer a few years back. The detail in the carving leads me to suspect its a harder wood underneath the lacquers.

The metal working on the other hand, looks very much like the other metal working I have handled in the past. (Again - see the photos below). But basically if you put these two photos together, you get your piece. Someone above mentioned they thought it was a screen or window panel and I agree with this. The metal working was probably added down the road to spruce it up most likely by a vendor (who knows where they picked it up). Looks pretty new. I see this all the time with our Tibetan suppliers here in China which results in these items which are neither 100% Chinese nor 100% Tibetan... Actually, I wonder if this came from somewhere other then China.... (Southeast asia?)

Also, having a look at the back might provide some more clues as well.

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