Chinese Lacquer Trunk with Handles, On stand

Plump oxblood trunk with swelling sides, sitting on two little black bollards.

This trunk with handles, on stand is from Shanxi Province, China, and dates to the 18th century. It is crackle finish lacquer & elm wood. Tibetans were traditionally semi-nomadic and owned few personal furnishings, so most Tibetan furniture stood in monasteries, and some of it was carted over the Himalayas to India as monasteries were destroyed. Bulging, barrel-like sides curve under a stepped flat lid. The deep red finish is crackled and worn thin in patches. A small latch plate shows at the front, and a black plinth with two round feet lifts the whole box. It is 33 inches long, 18 deep and 17 high.

Round-shouldered and proud, like a well-fed uncle.