Bargueño. Tortoiseshell, Rosewood, Walnut, Gilt Bronze, Wrought Iron. 17th And 20th Centuries (table).

Bargueño. Tortoiseshell, rosewood, walnut, gilt bronze, wrought iron. 17th and 20th centuries (table).
A wooden window desk, with a projecting central section featuring a chapel-like structure with architectural composition and an upper level dominated by a lobed element. Each side features four drawers with tortoiseshell fronts and a highly worked ormolu lock rose (two grotesques framing plant motifs towards the center and two mascarons above and below the rose). The central facade has two levels: the lower level features four columns, two on each side, with a series of gilded metal elements in the center, among which, sheltered under a flared semicircular arch and realized in gilded bronze, stands out the figure of Minerva (the Roman goddess associated with intelligence and closely related to the Greek goddess Athena; she was also associated with wisdom, war as a tactical concept, weaving, etc.), testifying to an influence on the design of the mantel.The upper level features moldings forming recessed panels, with a central quatrefoil element highlighted by a gilded bronze garland. The finial is composed of a gilded bronze openwork "balustrade" alternating with tortoiseshell pieces, topped by birds on spheres, and, in the center, an architectural composition echoing the lower part of the piece (a central space with a semicircular arch featuring a sculpture of Minerva, columns, grotesques, etc.). It rests on balls with gilded claws. The opening of the central niche reveals five drawers, each adorned in the center with two molded tortoiseshell rectangles and small decorated ormolu rings. The general design of this piece of furniture corresponds to a model widely used and appreciated in 17th-century Europe, the best examples of which are generally those of Italian manufacture, and which was perpetuated in the 18th century without breaking the compositional clarity that usually characterizes its fronts, but with slight modifications to the decorative details and elements of the central section, especially at the level of the central niche. The table on which it rests, inspired by antique models, was made in the 20th century. The use of tortoiseshell in furnishings resurfaced in Europe during the 17th century. The high price and demand for furniture made from sea turtle shells can be explained by the scarcity of the material, which had to be imported (usually from Central America), and by the fact that its production required a highly skilled workforce. As is often the case with this type of furniture, also known as "paper cabinets" because they contained important documents, the tortoiseshell inlays were often adorned with gilded metal decorations, bronze being a material commonly used for this purpose. -
Size: Totales: 154X51X220 cms. Bargueño 133x44x138 cm