Altar coffer

17th–18th century

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 218

This coffer originally served as an ancestral altar. The undivided compartment beneath the three drawers provided storage space for hanging scrolls and other long objects related to ancestral worship.

Artwork Details

Object Information

Overview

Provenance

Exhibition History

References

晚明清初黃花梨悶戶櫥
Title: Altar coffer
Period: late Ming (1368–1644) or early Qing (1644–1911) dynasty
Date: 17th–18th century
Culture: China
Medium: Wood (huanghuli or Dalbergia odorifera)
Dimensions: H. 30 in. (76.2 cm); W. 73 in. (185.4 cm); D. 21 1/8 in. (53.7 cm)
Classification: Furniture
Credit Line: Gift of Robert Hatfield Ellsworth, in honor of Miss Alice Boney, 1976
Object Number: 1976.344a–d
Curatorial Department: Asian Art

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Jewel coffer on stand (petit coffre à bijoux), Martin Carlin French, Oak veneered with tulipwood, amaranth, stained sycamore, holly, and ebonized holly; thirteen soft-paste porcelain plaques; gilt-bronze mounts; velvet (not original), French, Paris and Sèvres — Jewel coffer on stand (petit coffre à bijoux)
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