Title

Vargueño

Anonimous

Generic classification

Object

Date

Century

Cultural context / style

Dimensions

Material

Technique

Iconography / Theme

Provenance

Current location

Inventory Number in Current Collection

Object history

According to the Philadelphia Museum of Art this bargueño was probably made in Valladolid. It is one of the most characteristic pieces of 16th-17th century Spanish furniture (Aguiló, 1993). In this case, since it has a hinged lid and small scribes, it is possible that it also served as a writing desk. Both the lid and the side handles were used to carry the piece of furniture, something very common at this time. Likewise, the lid fulfilled a double function: it protected the contents and was used to deposit what was inside the drawers of the bargueño (Aguiló, 2018).

Furniture collecting became very popular in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. There were many who wished to decorate their residences with antique sumptuary objects (Burr, 1964). In this sense, the bargueño was one of the most sought-after pieces of furniture. Thus, it is probable that this piece left the country at the beginning of the 20th century. It was acquired in the second quarter of the 20th century by Mrs. F. W. Farr, who donated it to the Philadelphia Museum of Art in memory of Anna Barbee Hinchman in 1946.

Description

This bargueño is made up of two bodies, which have two handles on the sides. The upper body has thirteen compartments divided into four horizontal registers, the lower one being the largest. With respect to its decoration, the compartments have elements of architectural inspiration, such as columns, pilasters, friezes, etc. The ornamentation is completed by the painted and gilded bone inlaid in the small drawers. As for the lower body, it consists of a taquillón, a typology widely used in the early seventeenth century (Aguiló, 1993). It has four compartments divided into two horizontal registers of equal size, decorated with diamond-shaped strips that frame the keyholes.

Locations

• XVII^th c.

  province

  Possible origin in the province of Valladolid, Valladolid (Spain)

• Second quarter of the XX^th c. - ca. 1946

  private collection

  Mrs. F. W. Farr and Mr. F. W. Farr, Filadelfia (United States) *

• ca. 1946 - present

  museum

  Philadelphia Museum of Art, Filadelfia (United States)