CHEST. WALNUT, TEXTILE, WROUGHT IRON. 17TH CENTURY.

Bunker. Walnut wood, textile remains, wrought iron. XVII century. Rectangular ark or chest made of walnut wood that has a flat lid with fine moldings on the outside, another one running along the fronts of the piece and dodging downwards the lock on the front and, again, a slight staggering based on these motifs on the lower part, on the edge trimmed with curves and countercurves that partially hide the tubular legs with discs of the furniture. On the sides there are two metal handles, and in the corners two corner pieces (in each one) reinforce and decorate (simple plant elements cut out of the plate). The lock shield is decorated with animals and plant motifs; The hinges and corresponding part of the latch, inside the lid, have textile remains in a red tone, highlighting the decoration cut out at their ends. The shape of the present chest, rectangular with a flat lid, is also common in this type of furniture since the Gothic period in the Spanish school. It is necessary to highlight the weight that the typology would have in Spanish furniture, since it would last until the 19th century, especially in Andalusia, only with slight changes, the most notable of which would be the introduction of decorative elements in openwork iron, as in the present example, to use golden brass tacks drawing shields, plant themes, etc. This ark presents points in common with baroque examples from the Castilian school. Although it was the most common piece of furniture at the time, not many examples are preserved: compare with the two chests from the 17th century in the Casa de Cervantes Museum (CE 202 without fittings, CE 145 with them) in Alcalá de Henares (Madrid), or with the ark dated between the mid and late 18th century in the Lope de Vega House Museum (Madrid) that has the lower part cut off.

· Size: 124x60,5x70 cms