Mongolian Coffer with 2 Drawers and 2 Doors

A green phoenix sweeps across the front, its tail feathers trailing like ribbons.

This coffer with two drawers and two doors comes from Mongolia and dates to the mid 19th century. It is lacquered and painted poplar. Painted chests and coffers were standard furnishings in Mongolian homes and monasteries, decorated with motifs shared with Tibetan and Chinese art. The long front panel shows the bird among flowering plants and butterflies on a faded peach ground. Bands of flowers and fret patterns frame the sides, and a black frieze runs below the top. The drawers and doors are set into the end. Paint is worn through in many places. It is 81.5 inches long and 34.5 high.

Faded, perhaps, but the phoenix is still mid-flight.