Traveling Desk (Escritorio)
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Object Label
A number of Spanish American towns became well-known manufacturing centers specializing in escritorios and related desk types. Among the most famous was Villa Alta de San Ildefonso in Oaxaca, Mexico, where this finely crafted traveling desk was created. The desk’s interior is inlaid with representations of saints and their attributes within New World landscapes, suggesting a religious provenance. The piece, designed for personal use, may have furnished a private space within a larger ecclesiastical complex for a high-ranking member of the church.
Varias ciudades de Hispanoamérica se convirtieron en conocidos centros especializados en manufactura de escritorios y objetos relacionados. Entre los más famosos estaban la Villa Alta de San Ildefonso en Oaxaca, México, donde se creó un estilo de escritorios finos portátiles. El interior del escritorio se taraceaba con representaciones de santos y sus atributos en paisajes de Nuevo Mundo, sugiriendo su procedencia religiosa. La pieza, diseñada para el uso personal al interior de un complejo eclesiástico mayor, puede haber amueblado el espacio privado de un miembro del alto rango de la iglesia.
Caption
Traveling Desk (Escritorio), 18th century. Spanish cedar and walnut, with hard- and softwood inlays, pigments, iron, and velvet, open: 22 3/4 x 37 1/8 x 31 7/8 in. (57.8 x 94.3 x 81 cm) closed: 20 3/4 x 37 1/8 x 15 in. (52.7 x 94.3 x 38.1 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the family of Josephus Daniels, 51.102a. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.51.102b_side.jpg)
Title
Traveling Desk (Escritorio)
Date
18th century
Geography
Place made: Villa Alta de San Ildefonso, Oaxaca, Mexico
Medium
Spanish cedar and walnut, with hard- and softwood inlays, pigments, iron, and velvet
Classification
Dimensions
open: 22 3/4 x 37 1/8 x 31 7/8 in. (57.8 x 94.3 x 81 cm) closed: 20 3/4 x 37 1/8 x 15 in. (52.7 x 94.3 x 38.1 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of the family of Josephus Daniels
Accession Number
51.102a
Rights
Creative Commons-BY
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