λ AN HISPANO-MORESQUE MUDEJAR IVORY AND BONE-INLAID WALNUT CHEST

Possibly Barcelona, Spain, 16th - 17th century

Of rectangular shape, resting on rectangular wooden lintels raising the body from the ground, the sides, the lid and the interior clad in ivory and bone marquetry work, the decoration on the lid consisting of a large central roundel filled with floral and geometric motifs, framed by a sun-like crown and stellar designs, more roundels and floral motifs to the sides, the interior of the lid divided in squares with starbursts, stylised arabesques and roundels filled with stellar ivory-inlaid motifs, the centre decorated with a chess board within squared frames filled with stars and geometric patterns, the sides with similar motifs, two iron handles to the shorter sides, 79.5cm x 47cm x 30cm.

A similar ivory-inlaid walnut chest can be seen for comparison in the publication Caliphs and Kings: the art and influence of Islamic Spain - selections from the Hispanic Society of America, New York, 2004, cat. 86, p. 108. The decoration on the sides is exactly the same to the one present on our chest, thus suggesting a similar site of manufacture and dating. Analogous chests have successfully sold at auction in the London market before, please see Christie's London, 6 October 2011, lot 167 and Christie's South Kensington, 11 April 2014, lot 138.

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