LEATHERED CHEST. WOOD, TEXTILE, WROUGHT IRON. SPAIN, CA 1500.
Antiques - Miscellaneus / Other Objects
Reference: ZF0339
A rectangular chest with a semicircular lid made of carved wood and covered with worked leather, reinforced with wrought iron fittings. The handle on the lid and the lock on the front, with its escutcheon decorated with simplified plant motifs at the top, are also made of iron. The interior is lined with the fabric that was common in these pieces, which, as a rule, has not been well preserved, as is the case with this chest. These types of chests were used both to store and to transport precious objects, hence the lock, always seeking a quality in materials and decoration that manifested the economic power of its owner, in addition to maintaining utility. The shape is one of the most common for chests in the Spanish Gothic period, retaining from this style the arrangement of the fittings and a number of decorative elements. The reeded and lashed chests and coffers came in a wide variety of shapes and sizes, and were so frequent in Spain during the 15th and 16th centuries that numerous examples are still preserved today. Compare, for example, those in the Lope de Vega House Museum (Madrid), one dating from the early 16th century with 19th-century alterations (CE00170) and another covered in leather (inventory CE00004), or the 15th-century chest in the Museum of Decorative Arts in Madrid, as well as several examples in private collections.
· Size: 17x10x11 cms.
4.500 €
