This extraordinary cabinet was likely produced by Indigenous Guaraní artists in one of the Franciscan missions of Paraguay, possibly San Blas de Itá, which was established in 1585. Elaborately decorated writing desks with multiple drawers derive from the Spanish escritorio or papelera. The decorative scheme of this exceptional piece combines local and European motifs, reflecting the active participation of Indigenous artists in the design of Spanish-style furnishings.

Missions became known for particular products. The Franciscan José de Parras, who visited Itá in 1753, noted that “I only found exceptional masters of carpentry and sculpture. They carve beautiful boxes and writing desks richly inlaid with nacre and shells.” Shells were abundant in the region. The Jesuit missionary José Sánchez Labrador (1714–1798) described an island known as the Isla de Conchas (Island of Shells), where Native people harvested mother-of-pearl by the bucketload and sold it in the nearby city of Asunción, remarking that the shell was employed to make “striking inlaid writing desks, tables, and cabinets.”

The sober exterior of this cabinet opens to reveal an exuberant writing desk inlaid with contrasting tropical woods and opalescent freshwater shells. Among the details that enliven the work are reclining figures of Indigenous chieftains, one wearing a lip ornament (a symbol of strength and virility); elements traditionally associated with the Spanish world (bulls, horses, and angels); and birds, flowers, and stylized geometric motifs. The amphibious creatures may have had some significance in Guaraní cosmology, while the shell speech scrolls could allude to the concept of song that was essential for the Guaraní to transmit memories of their past. The shells are intricately embellished with additional motifs and pictographs that might also hold special meaning. The work demonstrates a remarkable degree of Indigenous agency and the persistence of Guaraní traditions within the Spanish colonial system.

Ilona Katzew, 2023

Ávalos Family, Corrientes, Argentina, by the early 20th century; Antonio Zacarías Muniz Barreto Sáenz Valiente (1882–1969), Buenos Aires, before 1931; by descent to his daughter Jacoba Juana Muniz Barreto de Duggan (1932–1982), Buenos Aires, 1962; by descent to her daughter Jovita Duggan Muniz Barreto de Decker, Buenos Aires,1982; J. C. Naón & Cía, SA – Auction House, Buenos Aires, July 1996, lot 268; Private collection, Buenos Aires, 1996; Eguiguren Arte de Hispanoamérica (Javier Eguiguren), 2022; LACMA, 2023.