Day 146 - Chinese saddle










April 16, 2019

Gallery 378 contains objects from Japan, China, Tibet, and central Asia that give me unexpected pleasure. I hadn't thought of Tibetans as particularly warlike (what with the Dalai Lama and all).  But there's a  model figure of a mounted Tibetan cavalryman whose upper body is covered with chain mail. There's also a Tibetan  ceremonial saddle - made in 1942! - whose side pieces are made of beautifully modeled gilt copper inlaid with turquoise; I think I recognize deagon motifs among the curlicues of the ornamentation.  There's a 17th-18th century Japanese coat of armor with square and rectangular metal plates fastened onto chain mail that looks so unlike any other armor I've seen that the first thing I think is that the figure looks like it has just stepped out of an alien movie. There's a fabulous lapis lazuli-hilted knife (I surmise that this was ceremonial even before reading the caption, which confirms my supposition) with an equally fabulous gilded sheath inlaid with blue enameled flowers and leaves. There's a magnificent cuved steel blade for a sword made in 2004 but following a traditional Japanese style. There's a 14th century Mongolian helmet inscribed in Arabic with the name of the ruler and a Tibetan helmet whose inscription includes a mantra with the word "om." 

But the object that makes me gasp in admiration of its beauty is a Chinese ceremonial saddle,  perhaps 30 inches long, probably made between 1662 and 1722. Inlaid with small pieces of mother-of-pearl and gold foil arranged in swirling curves against black lacquer; the inlays glint and gleam as they catch the light, as they must have done constantly when the saddle was in place on a horse in motion. I read that elaborately decorated saddles were used across Asia, from Japan to the Himalayas, as personal status symbols and diplomatic gifts. This saddle was discovered in Tibet, where it was probably sent as a diplomatic gift from the Chinese emperor.  The emperor's wealth and good taste must have impressed the saddle's recipients.  

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