Select the image to zoomVargueño
ca. 1575-1600
Aragon?
Walnut with boxwood and inlaid ivory
H. 60 cm, w. 96 cm, d. 44.5 cm; base: h. 78 cm, w. 89 cm, d. 49 cm
Writing cabinets known today as vargueños are perhaps the most distinctive of all Spanish furniture. The vargueño is typically a walnut drop-front desk in the form of a box, that can be rested on standard chest or trestle stands of the same width. To facilitate the constant movement of these pieces, they are frequently designed with iron lock plates and drop handles.
Since the representation of architectural features on inlaid pieces from this period is uncommon, the round-arched doors with classic pediments, shell-hooded windows, and an arcaded gallery with a brick facade suggest an Aragonese provenance. At the center on the face of the lid appears an as yet unidentified coat of arms. The knotted rope framing bath the interior and exterior compositions might refer to Saint Francis, and the crosses between the battlements on the upper register of the exterior may further indicate that the piece was intended for a Franciscan church or monastery.
Text and images © Hispanic Society of America.