λ AN HISPANO-MORESQUE IVORY AND BONE-INLAID WRITING CABINET (VARGUENO)
Central Spain, 16th - 17th century

λ AN HISPANO-MORESQUE IVORY AND BONE-INLAID WRITING CABINET (VARGUENO)
Central Spain, 16th - 17th century

Of typical rectangular shape, resting on four circular wooden feet, three sides of the exterior, the top panel and the interior decorated with bone and ivory marquetry work arranged in the typical taracea mudejar of the regions of Aragon and Castilla, with a great array of designs comprising amphora-like vases with rosette bouquets; vegetal meanderings with pointy buds; vine trellis; half roundels with split star motifs; each panel encased within a geometric lattice band with either triangles or arrow-shaped geometric motifs, the writing slope decorated with a large rosette medallion with a four-pointed star in the centre, the interior divided in three drawers of different sizes with elongated bronze handles, 29.6cm x 45.5cm x 27.4cm.

The style and decoration of this vargueno suggest an attribution to the central regions of Post-Nasrid Spain rather than the southern ones. Indeed, the taracea mudejar aragonesa and castillana distinguished themselves for inlays of longer and thicker tesserae of bone and ivory, usually displayed in repeating patterns in a subtle balance of measure and spatial rhythm. These styles departed from the taracea granadina of Southern Spain, dominated by the geometric eight-pointed star, and usually featured a more rustic and stronger Western-focused aesthetic (Maria Paz Aguilo Alonso, El Mueble en Espana: Siglos XVI - XVII, 1993, pp. 164 - 165). For a similar exemplar, please see Ibidem, fig. 129, p. 240.

(Quantity:1)

Dimensions: 29.6cm x 45.5cm x 27.4cm