Tibetan Cabinet with 2 Doors

Four panels of peonies on red, painted by someone unafraid of either.

This cabinet with 2 doors comes from Tibet and dates to the 19th century. It is painted pine wood. Painted cabinets were a fixture of Tibetan homes and monasteries, where families and monks kept clothes, food and ritual things inside, behind flowers and other auspicious motifs. Peonies in cream, gold and slate blue rise from rocks and water on each panel, surrounded by dark, jagged leaves. Metal hasps sit at the center of the right-hand panels. The frame is narrow and dark, with fine scrolling along the rails, and the top looks scuffed. Thirty-eight inches long and thirty-eight high.

As wide as it is tall. The flowers have no complaints.