A Spanish colonial hardwood and bone chest on stand ('caja con bufete

the domed top casket with ornate ironwork strap hinges, lockplate and clasp, with ripple-moulded detail, on bun feet, raised on a matched table with ebonised bobbin-turned stretchered legs and bun feet, inscribed 'Seville, 9 January 1626', 79cm wide, 53cm deep, 117cm high, Probably acquired by Cara Leyland Rogers Broughton, Baroness Fairhaven (1873-1930); thence by descent. The caja con bufete a juego, literally, a 'chest with matching table', is among the most emblematic forms of Spanish colonial furniture, embodying the transatlantic exchange of materials, aesthetics, and ideologies that defined the early modern Iberian world. Produced in the Viceroyalty of Peru in the early 17th century, this example, dated 1626 and inscribed with a Seville dedication, offers a rare and tangible link between the colonial elite of the New World and the mercantile and administrative centres of the Spanish Crown. The four engraved bone plaques to the underside of the lid of the chest translate as 'The Pearls of Jewellery belonging to Maria Angel Nino and L'adron Guebara' Marchioness of Monte Blanco, first Lady of the Great Britain', 'Peruvian Blesa circa 1626' and 'The Ark is the guardian of the hala', Hala is a maritime term used to describe a heavy load, or possibly here as a valuable cargo. These chests were not merely utilitarian objects but potent symbols of wealth, literacy and status. Often used to store documents, textiles or devotional items, they were typically crafted by indigenous or mestizo artisans, trained in European techniques but working with local materials and motifs. The use of bone inlay, ripple moulding and elaborate ironwork reflects a hybrid aesthetic - part Mudéjar, part baroque - filtered through the lens of colonial craftsmanship. The matched table, or bufete, served both a practical and ceremonial function. It elevated the chest physically and symbolically, transforming it into a focal point of the domestic interior. The presence of a dated inscription referencing Seville, the principal port of departure for goods and people bound for the Americas, suggests either a commemorative origin or a transatlantic commission, possibly marking the arrival of a new official or the establishment of a household in the colonies. Comparable examples are held in major museum collections. A closely related caja con bufete a juego is in the collection of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), accession no. M.2007.62.1a-b, which similarly features bone inlay and iron mounts, and is attributed to Peru or Bolivia, early 17th century. The Museo Pedro de Osma in Lima also holds several cajas and bufetes of this type, many of which are illustrated in María Campos Carlés de Peña’s seminal study 'A Surviving Legacy in Spanish America: Seventeenth- and Eighteenth-Century Furniture from the Viceroyalty of Peru'. The growing scholarly and market interest in Spanish colonial furniture reflects a broader reassessment of the cultural production of the Americas during the colonial period. Once marginalised in favour of European decorative arts, these works are now recognised for their technical sophistication and cultural hybridity. As the Chipstone Foundation has noted, 'as more and more museums in the United States are beginning to collect Spanish colonial decorative arts and…this work deserves our attention'. This chest and table, with their documented date and inscription, stand as a rare and eloquent witness to the material culture of early colonial Peru. At once functional, ornamental and historic. Literature: María Campos Carlés de Peña, 'A Surviving Legacy in Spanish America: Seventeenth- and Eighteenth-Century Furniture from the Viceroyalty of Peru', Ediciones El Viso, 2014. caja con bufete a juego, bufete, cajas, bufetes, Condition Report, Condition Report, This lot does not have a condition report, if you would like further information, please click the 'Request A Condition Report’ button below. Request A Condition Report, Request A Condition Report

Estimate:£6,000

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