Tibetan or Mongolian
Leather, shellac, wood, iron, and gold
Bow case: L. 25 in. (63.5 cm), W. 16 1/2 in. (41.9 cm); quiver: L. 20 in. (50.8 cm), W. 11 1/2 in. (29.2 cm); belt: L. 50 3/4 in. (128.9 cm), W. 1 1/4 in. (3.2 cm)
Purchase, Arthur Ochs Sulzberger Gift, 2003 (2003.344a–c)
Matching sets of this relatively early type of bow case, quiver, and belt are very rare, there being a few examples in museum collections in Great Britain, mostly collected around the time of the Younghusband Expedition (1903–4). Both the bow case and the quiver are densely covered with decoration executed in black lines and golden brown shellac, now darkened with age, very similar to that found on some leather arm defenses and horse armor. They are also fitted with domed bosses of pierced and chiseled iron damascened with gold and decorated with dragons, scrollwork, and blossoms, which relate closely to the ironwork on some Tibetan swords, saddle plates, and other objects.
