WALNUT THREE KEYS CHEST WITH WROUGHT IRONWORK, CASTILLE (SPAIN), 17TH CENTURY.

“Town Hall” ark in walnut wood and wrought iron fittings. Castile, 17th century. Rectangular ark with a flat top on four spherical legs and prominent lower molding, reinforced with corner pieces and featuring two handles with a central disc on the sides and, on its front front, three locks with a decorated lock shield highlighted on a fabric background, with their respective keys. These have a decorated stem and the ring with openwork circular elements. This type of chest is called “Town Hall” or “Council” because of its three locks, each of which closes with its respective key. This furniture was used in any type of organization, religious or civil, to store valuable objects, documents or money and each of the keys was given to a person in charge, it being essential that the three of them met to open the furniture, avoiding any possible temptation. They were a very common element in councils or town halls of towns and other towns, hence their nickname. Stylistically, it is located within the Baroque due to the forcefulness of the lower molding and the movement provided by the legs and the shapes of the different fittings. The typology was already used in the Gothic period and, given its success, it would continue to be common in the workshops of cabinetmakers and carpenters for many centuries. Sometimes they were made of iron, and, in very few cases, three keys are used as the closure of a silver ark (the one that contains the body of San Isidro, Madrid). In many places, such as La Rioja, it was used as a municipal archive, following laws inherited from a pragmatic law of June 9, 1500 with which the Catholic Monarchs forced the Councils of their territories to build town hall houses, prisons and have a treasure chest. privileges and deeds. Despite having been so abundant in their time, numerous examples have not reached us because they fell into disuse and were replaced. Compare with that of the Council of Villafranca de la Marisma (Los Palacios and Villafranca, Seville), that of Valdipiélago (León), that of Matapozuelos (Valladolid), that of the Cabildo of Buenos Aires of Argentina (18th century, following previous models), etc

· Size: 152x67,5x76 cms.