"A very few men are smiths, making silver or gold ornaments, repairing guns, kettles, saddles, etc. ; but the best silversmiths are found in the lamaseries" , The land of the Lamas: notes of a journey through China, Mongolia and Tibet, William Woodville Rockhill, 1891.
Silver Saddlery Ornaments
Country of origin / Region: Tibet, Derge, Kham
Dating: 18/19th century
Materials: Silver
Total size : 23.5cm
Price : 1500€
The city of Derge ( སྡེ་དགེ ), located in present-day Sichuan Province, China, was once the central town of the Kingdom of Derge, nestled in the eastern part of Tibet, the Kham region. The city was renowned as a center of crafts, particularly for its printing and the production of a wide variety of bronze, iron, silver, and gold objects.
William Woodville Rockhill, in The Land of Lamas, describes the town as follows:
"Derge is especially noted throughout Tibet for the excellence of its metalwork. The swords, guns, teapots, powder magazines, seals, bells, etc., made here fetch large sums when offered for sale; their saddles are also the best in Eastern Tibet, those from Litang taking second place. I have a large number of metalworks from Derge, which would be attributable to any workman, but I have seen some of extreme artistic finesse and perfect workmanship."
Pierced ironwork from the Derge region: saddle (17th-18th century), chamfer (16th-17th century), bridle element (15th-17th century), belt element (18th-19th century) (Metropolitan Museum of New York, top left: no. 1997.214.1; top right: no. 2008.291; bottom left: no. 2005.73; bottom right: no. 2014.626.2)
The examples above consist mainly of dragons moving among foliage and clouds, themes that are also found on our silver examples. It is likely that these two ornaments were decorative elements intended for bridles, saddlery or leather goods.
The dragon (འབྲུག, Druk), in Tibetan Buddhism, is a solitary and wise creature, symbolizing enlightenment and good communication. We also find the gankyil (དགའ་འཁྱིལ་), or wheel of joy, which illustrates the inseparability of the base, the path and the fruit in the initiatory path.
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