Tibetan Leather Trunk

It kept its secrets behind iron, and the leather went dark around them.

This trunk comes from Tibet and is dated to the late 18th century, in wood and leather. In Tibet, such chests held the things a household or monastery could not afford to lose, from cloth to religious goods, and they were built to survive the journeys of a high and roadless country. Leather nearly black, with streaks of red showing through, wraps the whole box. Iron straps with pointed ends grip the edges, and a shaped hasp closes the lid. A darker rectangular panel sits on the front. Thirty-six and a half inches long and twenty-five high.

Whatever went in stayed in. One respects that in a trunk.