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Baronet 4 Tibet
Tibetan Buddhist Art furniture & Antiques from the monasteries of the Ser Shong (Golden Valley)
 

Water Offering Cabinet B009.04

Tibetan Buddhist shrine or water offering cabinet tibetan Buddhist shrine right side
front view right side

Very well done offering cabinet featuring a plethora of lotus and chrysanthemum blossoms and a green eyed Tiger on the front. I find this cabinet very uplifting and it really radiates beauty and joy.  The symmetry is obvious, with the flipping of the border chrysanthemums around the front door. This is a specifically  designed cabinet  for the water offering; however as with all Tibetan furniture it has multiple usages.  Atisha sanctioned the water offering for Tibet only when he visited there as he found that the water was so pure.  It has a single door, and the hinges are wood-dowels in the top and bottom edges that fit into a hole bored into the underside of the horizontal frame, with a tapered slot in the bottom frame-opening.   The original leather door-pull is missing, so there is a replacement leather-pull not shown in this picture.  This cabinet is made from Asian cedar and is painted on the front and the inside portions of the offering gallery using the raised gesso or kyungbur  technique. The earliest known use of this technique is at the Wutun Monastery and the monastery is most probably the point of origin of this technique. The sides,  top and back are a natural oil finish. The top has some separation and splits in the unpainted planks. Comes with a Certificate Of Authenticity.

AGE: 1890s     
 Dimensions:   Height to horizontal offering top=24.5"  Height to top of gallery 30.62"W=29.25" D=15.75"  Door H= 19"  W= 15"

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Price $1,695.00,  plus shipping and handling West Coast $170, Mtn. States $179, Mid West $188, Atlantic coast $195  Canadian destinations contact us  for a quote. 

Iconography

the front door is striking with the green eyed tiger surrounded by Lotus blossoms and a border of chrysanthemums The tiger is floating above swirling cluds and blue/green cliffs with Kusha grass grwoing out of the tops .The tiger is a symbol of strength, military prowess.  Tigers were indigenous to eastern Tibet, where the Wutun Monastery is located.  A more subtle meaning has to do with Tantric Buddhism.  Tiger skins were a favored meditational mat for Tantric sages.  In Tantric Buddhism, the tiger skin represents the transmutation of anger into wisdom and insight, also offering protection to the meditator from outside harm or spiritual interference. Tiger icons in Tibetan Buddhism are most prevalent in eastern Tibet, appearing on more furniture and rugs here than anywhere else in Tibet. The rock/cliff formation represents the syllable "E" which appears in the opening stanza of early Buddhist scriptures, ("'thus,' I have heard"). The blue and green cliffs represent the unmoving nature of the mind when enlightenment has been attained. Kusha grows to a height of two feet and is used to purify defilements; those wishing purification will sleep in a field or patch of kusha grass to acquire ritual purification.  Kusha grass under a pillow at night before initiation is used to produce clear dreams; it is also used in Buddhism to enhance the clarity of visualization and meditation. Kusha is the grass of choice  to manufacture sacred meditation mats. The lotus flower  is another natural symbol and represents earth.  Tibetan Buddhist mystics imagined the earth floating like a lotus flower on the oceans of the universe. The heart of the flower is the cosmic mountain, the axis of the universe. The generally acknowledged meaning of the lotus flower is purity of mind or divine creation. From the muck of a pond, where the roots of the lotus reside, an immaculate white flower emerges to rest on the surface of the water as a metaphor for the harmonious unfolding of spirituality. Expanded Iconography will be provided to the purchaser.