WROUGHT IRON LECTERN. SPAIN, 16TH CENTURY

Folding standing lectern in wrought iron and fabric, Spain, 16th century. The two scissor-joined legs that support the lectern present architectural decorative elements (polylobed pointed arches) with highly stylized plant details. The upper zone shows some bands of rhombuses combined with lobed shapes, more plant elements, a fleurdelisada cross finish and two candelabras with torso and curved arms and bobeches with ornate edges. The arches that draw the legs of the work and the trilobe that is drawn in this area, in addition to those already mentioned decorative bands are two very characteristic elements of Gothic arts, as are the use of these highly stylized plant elements and the cross with fleurs de lis finishing off the piece. This piece could have had a religious or civil use, since in both cases the same models were used, only the decoration varying in some cases (as in the present, the presence of the cross). Despite the fact that functionality prevails, as can be seen from the presence of the chandeliers or the portability of the lectern, the interest of the master forger in decoration is notable when finishing off and curving the parts that make up the work and placing small plant elements. It stands out for the great scarcity of this type of furniture made of metal from the Gothic period, as well as for the undeniable elegance of its decorative elements. Normally, the iron works used to be recast once the decorative style in which they had been made had gone out of style, the owner of the work needed money, the metal was necessary for some reason, etc., hence it is not in absolute common its conservation. Even more striking, if possible, is the presence of a very similar lectern in the Metropolitan Museum in New York (inventory 10,158), which shows that both examples follow a typology that must have been very common in 16th-century Spain. . There are also other examples of standing iron lecterns in museums such as the Nacional de Artes Decorativas in Madrid (CE19517, CE27473, etc.), simpler, or those preserved, sometimes fragmented, in some churches and cathedrals.

· Size: 75x73x152 cms