CASTILLAN WALNUT CHEST. TEXTILE AND WROUGHT IRON. SPAIN, BAROQUE, 17TH CENTURY.

Castilian chest. Walnut wood, textile and wrought iron. XVII century. Rectangular chest with a flat top without legs decorated with carved moldings on the upper and lower edges of the cabinet and along the front, avoiding the lock on the front. This is made of metal, placed on red textile, and has an openwork composition based on volutes and other simplified shapes, a decoration that is also presented in the rest of the ark's hardware. Towards the sides, on the front, it has two metal pieces to ensure the closure of the lid; On the sides you can find the handles, common in this type of chests, also enhanced with a composition of openwork iron on textile, similar to the rest of the elements. Inside, the exposed wood is presented, along with the corresponding hardware (hinge and closure pieces), as well as a division towards one side through a section covered in wood. The different openwork fittings follow a tradition that is already found in chests at the end of the 16th century (compare the present example with the 15th century Gothic chest in the Museum of Valladolid, for example), but with decorative motifs, of Baroque influence: braces, simplified rolls, curves, etc. The shape of the present chest, rectangular with a flat lid, is also common in this type of furniture since the Gothic period, without the characteristic influence of the 17th century being appreciated in this sense. 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. The chest responds to what is usual in Castilian models, totally different from the Catalan, Valencian and Mallorcan ones. 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 hardware, CE 145 with them) in Alcalá de Henares (Madrid).

· Size: 67x171x60 cms