CHEST. WALNUT, TEXTILE, WROUGHT IRON. 17TH CENTURY.
Antiques - Furniture
Reference: ZF0464
Chest. Walnut wood, textile remnants, wrought iron. 17th century. A rectangular chest or coffer made of walnut wood, featuring a flat lid with fine moldings on the exterior, another molding running along the front of the piece and curving downwards to avoid the lock, and again a slight stepped effect of these motifs at the bottom, above the edge cut with curves and counter-curves that partially conceal the tubular legs with discs. Two metal handles are located on the sides, and two corner pieces (one on each) reinforce and decorate the piece (simple vegetal elements cut into the plate). The lock escutcheon is decorated with animals and plant motifs; the hinges and corresponding part of the bolt, inside the lid, show remnants of red textile highlighting the cut decoration at their ends. The rectangular shape of this chest, with its flat lid, is also typical of this type of furniture, dating back to the Gothic period in the Spanish school. It is important to highlight the significance of this typology in Spanish furniture, as it persisted until the 19th century, especially in Andalusia, with only slight modifications. The most notable change was the shift from decorative elements in openwork iron, as in this example, to the use of gilded brass studs depicting coats of arms, vegetal motifs, and so on. This chest shares commonalities with Baroque examples from the Castilian school. Although it was the most common piece of furniture at the time, not many examples survive: compare it with the two 17th-century chests in the Casa de Cervantes Museum (CE 202 without fittings, CE 145 with them) in Alcalá de Henares (Madrid), or with the chest dating from the mid- to late-18th century in the Casa Museo Lope de Vega (Madrid), which has a cut-off lower section.
· Size: 124x60,5x70 cms
3.000 €
