Chinese for the Tibetan Market 17th–18th century Iron, wood, silk, and leather In quality and style of workmanship, this saddle recalls some of the best imperial Chinese saddles, such as one owned by the Emperor Qianlong (r. 1736-96) and preserved in the Palace Museum, Beijing. In addition to its superb quality, this saddle is also exceptional for having all of its original parts, including the elaborate seat cover of embroidered silk and the fitting of the saddletree. Although this type of saddle is often identified as Tibetan, the form of the saddle plates, the style of the workmanship, and the type of saddletree, along with the similarity to imperial Chinese saddles, suggest it is more likely Chinese, perhaps from the imperial workshops. It was used in Tibet, however, as demonstrated by the Tibetan letter 'ka' branded on the underside of the saddletree as a form of inventory number. It must have belonged to a Tibetan nobleman of the highest rank, possibly received as a gift directly from the imperial court. The saddle plates are made from relatively thick iron, deeply chiseled and pierced, and the motifs are densely arranged so that the gaps in the scroll-work are narrow. The plates are finely crosshatched and damascened overall with a thick layer of gold foil. The beads of coral and ivory in the center of the pommel and cantle form a popular Buddhist symbol called the Three Jewels, representing the Buddha, in the dharma, and the sangha.

This is one of those shots wherein I realize how fat I am. The ground was sticky clay mud from all the rain, which just won't come out of anything, and The bottom hinges were too far down for me to try to get to in a crouched position for the 20 minutes I'd need to finally finish each off, so I grabbed a very short beach chair, my LED head lamp, and did my best to fit the chisels in between the shelving to get this door's hinge mortises in place.