Anónimo asturiano del siglo XVII Lot n° 40

Three-piece bargueño in walnut wood and wrought iron. Asturias, Spain, 17th century. The lower part is a two-door chest with carved decoration, the central part is a desk with a hinged lid and a two-door cupboard, above. On the exterior, the lower part alternates rhomboidal geometric motifs on the sides and tabs in the center, rectangular elements above and below and vegetal elements; the doors show moldings around rectangles resembling pictures and frames; the upper part, in addition to these carved details mentioned, has its doors and two openwork sides with balusters. The whole is crowned by a split pediment with decoration of drops like those used under the triglyphs in classical art. The lower doors are secured by fasteners and have teardrop-shaped handles. The desk has a handle and key lock with the horseshoe coat of arms highlighted and decorated with an openwork metal plate with S-turns flanking a central shield, surmounted by a simplified floral detail; inside, the drawers are divided into an upper and lower band with four each and a central area of two drawers on either side of a central open round-arched chapel, and the decorated with marquetry of simple geometric lines on all the fronts. The doors of the The doors of the alacenilla close with a key. The carved decoration already appears in the fronts of the bargueños and in the 16th century taquillones, and the inclusion of details used in architectural entablatures of that style belong to Renaissance influence. However, the vertical proportions of the furniture are seen in those known as "Carlos V", which appear towards the second third. The Spanish taste for carved panels and moldings is clearly seen in this example, and the marquetry of the interior of the desk resembles that of others of Asturian manufacture. Balusters and movement details show membership in the Baroque period. Also known as "bargueño cupboard", this type of furniture did not belong to strictly domestic furniture, but was strictly domestic furniture, but was used in public places or rooms of important residences where they could be important residences where they could be contemplated. Because of this value, examples like the present one were not very common, but some very similar ones have been preserved in important private collections. Compare it with a very similar example conserved in the Museo Etnográfico Provincial de León in Mansilla de las Mulas, but it can also be related to others such as the cupboard in the Casa Museo Lope de Vega in Madrid (inventory CE00234) from around the end of the 17th century, or the cupboard in the Museo Nacional de Artes Decorativas in Madrid (CE02504). Measurements: 105 x 46 x 215 cm.