This saddle demonstrates beautifully the long tradition of finely made and ornately decorated ceremonial saddles that flourished in Tibet from at least the early fifteenth century until the mid-twentieth century. It is distinguished by elaborate mounts of intricately modeled gilt copper plates, set with turquoise. The saddle was made in Derge (in present-day Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province, China), which was famous for centuries for its metalwork. It is significant not only as a fine example of late Derge metalwork but also because it was made for a known patron: the Tibetan nobleman Yuthok Tashi Dundrup (1906–1983), who commissioned the saddle when he assumed the post of governor of Eastern Tibet in 1942.
