THREE LOCKS CHEST. WALNUT, IRON. SPAIN, 17TH CENTURY.
Antiques - Furniture
Reference: ZF0870
Town hall chest. Walnut wood. 17th century. A rectangular chest made of carved walnut with a flat lid and simple decoration on its fronts, featuring smooth moldings of varying widths. It stands slightly raised off the ground on six legs with cylindrical bases on flattened circles. The exterior is adorned with wrought iron fittings (corner pieces with fleur-de-lis finials), two openwork handles on the sides, and, on the front, three locks with keys and openwork escutcheons decorated with simplified vegetal motifs. Inside, a wooden partition runs along one side, positioned high up, creating a rectangular compartment with a hinged lid and two small drawers below. The three iron keys have ornate and decorated keyholes, with simple decorative elements on the side of the stem or central part and the usual flat prongs. Chests with three locks are also commonly known as "town hall" or "council" chests, because both these and those with two keys were frequently used by religious, military, or civil organizations to store valuable objects and documents. They were secured by giving a key to each person responsible (one key to each person), so that they had to be present to open the chest. In many parts of Spain, they served as municipal archives, following laws inherited from a royal decree of June 9, 1500, by which the Catholic Monarchs compelled the councils of their territories to build town halls, jails, and maintain a chest of privileges and deeds. Despite being abundant in their time, few examples have survived because they fell into disuse and were replaced. Compare with that of the Council of Villafranca de la Marisma (Los Palacios y Villafranca, Seville), that of Valdipiélago (León), that of Matapozuelos (Valladolid), that of the Cabildo of Buenos Aires of Argentina (18th century, following earlier models), etc.
· Size: 157x64x78 cms
4.800 €
