A fine early 18th century ebonised Vargueno. Almost certainly Flemish, the front with tortoiseshell panels and pillars and twelve well painted vignettes. The central cupboard with a finely painted interiors scene. Original gilt bronze mounts the base with a gadrooned gilt bronze edge.
c. 1710
The Vargueno was in fact originally a wooden cabinet of mixed Spanish and Oriental origin that first appeared in Europe in the late Middle Ages and became a common article of furniture in the Spanish colonial empire from the late 16th century onward. The interior is divided into an intricate arrangement of drawers and recesses for holding jewels, documents, and other valuables. The drawers and recesses are often inlaid with ivory, silver, or gold and are occasionally stained in bright colours. The exterior is elaborately mounted at the corners and elsewhere in iron or silver, and the front is secured by a heavy padlock or conventional lock.
Height60.00 inch(152.4 cm)
Width41.00 inch(104.1 cm)
Depth16.00 inch(40.6 cm)
Ref No. 2547