SPAIN, 19TH CENTURY

The intricate inlaid geometric designs on this vargueno are undoubtedly inspired by Spain’s Islamic past. Bone and ivory inlaid motifs centred on stellar forms were popular with the Nasrid dynasty which ruled much of Southern Spain from the mid-13th century through to the Reconquista at the end of the 15th century. A Nasrid or post-Nasrid chair, (last quarter of the 15th/first half of the 16th century), was sold in these Rooms, 7 April 2011, lot 119. This geometric inlaid style continued to be favoured in Spain through to the 19th century when a new interest in the Alhambra and Islamic era architecture brought about a new flowering of artistic production which celebrated all things ‘hispano-moresque’. The intricate arcades found on the interior of our cabinet with the geometric motifs imitating zilij style tile-work set between cusped arches is very architectural and was probably inspired by this renewed interest. A cabinet in the Museo San Pio V in Valencia dated to the 19th century rests on legs formed of columns with calligraphic inscriptions which is similarly architectural in inspiration like the interior of this cabinet, (Maria Paz Aguilo Alonso, El Mueble en Espana: Siglos XVI-XVII, Madrid, 1993, no.123, p. 236). Three elaborate cast lock fitting and bolts on either side of the front of our cabinet were probably taken from an earlier vargueno. A vargueno in the City Art Museum of St. Louis dated to the 16th or 17th century has very similar lock fittings and rests on a very closely related stand, (Grace Hardendorff Burr, Hispanic Furniture, New York, 1964, fig.41, p.44).