Unidentified artist
Chest with Matching Stand (Caja con bufete a juego)18th century

On view:

Geffen Galleries, Spanish America at the Center of the World

Decorative wood cabinet with ivory and ebony inlay, lid open and drawer extended, resting on a turned-leg stand; geometric and floral marquetry patterns cover all surfaces

Wooden vargueno-style cabinet with dense ivory or bone inlay in cream and brown geometric and floral patterns, iron lock hardware on front, resting on a stand with turned baluster legs joined by stretchers.

Wooden vargueno-style cabinet with dense bone and ivory inlay in geometric and floral patterns, raised on a matching stand with turned baluster legs connected by a box stretcher.

Wooden casket shown open, with intricate marquetry and inlay decoration in warm brown, ebony, and ivory tones. Exterior front panel features floral and geometric inlaid patterns with a central metal escutcheon. Interior lid displays framed rectangular and diamond geometric marquetry panels with a small mirror at center; box interior lined with diagonal lattice marquetry. Metal hinge visible at top.

Wooden table with rectangular top densely inlaid with geometric diamond and triangular patterns in ivory, ebony, red, and dark wood marquetry; apron bordered with interlocking ivory inlay; four turned baluster legs joined by a rectangular stretcher with bun feet.

Artist or Maker: Unidentified artist
Title: Chest with Matching Stand (Caja con bufete a juego)
Place Made: Guatemala (for export market, possibly Peru)
Date Made: 18th century
Medium: Wood, inlaid with tortoiseshell, mother-of-pearl, and ivory; mirror glass; and iron
Dimensions: Chest: 14 9/16 × 24 3/8 × 14 3/8 in. (37 × 61.9 × 36.5 cm); stand: 19 11/16 × 18 × 29 5/16 in. (50 × 45.7 × 74.5 cm)
Credit Line: Purchased with funds provided by the Bernard and Edith Lewin Collection of Mexican Art Deaccession Fund
Accession Number: M.2009.121a-b
Classification: Furnishings
Collecting Area: Latin American Art
Curatorial Notes: Geometric and floral patterns adorn the surfaces of this enconchado chest and matching stand. The enconchado technique refers to the application of small sheets of concha de perla (mother-of-pearl) and tortoiseshell on wood surfaces. Because of their materials and their designs that vaguely resemble Asian decorative arts, these works have been difficult to categorize. Scholars have suggested that they were imported aboard the famous Spanish trading ships—known as the Manila Galleons—that traveled annually between the Philippines and Mexico. But archival and material documentation suggests that such works originated in Guatemala, where mother-of-pearl and tortoiseshell were harvested locally and considered prized commodities. Many items made of these materials were exported to Mexico and Peru. The designs draw on a range of European and Asian sources, which local artists creatively reinterpreted.

Ilona Katzew

2024
Provenance: Private collection, Mexico, early 20th century; Carmen Argudo, Madrid, c. 1900; by inheritance to her sister Julia de Benítez, Madrid; by inheritance to her daughter María Segovia, Madrid; Etienne Breton, Saint Honoré Art Consulting, Paris, 2009; LACMA, 2009.
Selected Bibliography: Katzew, Ilona, ed. Archive of the World: Art and Imagination in Spanish America, 1500–1800: Highlights from LACMA’s Collection. Exh. Cat. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art; New York: DelMonico Books/D.A.P., 2022.
Selected Exhibition History: Archive of the World: Art and Imagination in Spanish America, 1500–1800. June 12, 2022 - October 30, 2022
Archive of the World: Art and Imagination in Spanish America, 1500–1800. October 20, 2023 - January 28, 2024
Archive of the World: Art and Imagination in Spanish America, 1500–1800. June 22, 2024 - September 08, 2024

Related Exhibitions

Unidentified artist
Chest with Matching Stand (Caja con bufete a juego)18th century

On view:

Geffen Galleries, Spanish America at the Center of the World

Artist or Maker: Unidentified artist
Title: Chest with Matching Stand (Caja con bufete a juego)
Place Made: Guatemala (for export market, possibly Peru)
Date Made: 18th century
Medium: Wood, inlaid with tortoiseshell, mother-of-pearl, and ivory; mirror glass; and iron
Dimensions: Chest: 14 9/16 × 24 3/8 × 14 3/8 in. (37 × 61.9 × 36.5 cm); stand: 19 11/16 × 18 × 29 5/16 in. (50 × 45.7 × 74.5 cm)
Credit Line: Purchased with funds provided by the Bernard and Edith Lewin Collection of Mexican Art Deaccession Fund
Accession Number: M.2009.121a-b
Classification: Furnishings
Collecting Area: Latin American Art
Curatorial Notes: Geometric and floral patterns adorn the surfaces of this enconchado chest and matching stand. The enconchado technique refers to the application of small sheets of concha de perla (mother-of-pearl) and tortoiseshell on wood surfaces. Because of their materials and their designs that vaguely resemble Asian decorative arts, these works have been difficult to categorize. Scholars have suggested that they were imported aboard the famous Spanish trading ships—known as the Manila Galleons—that traveled annually between the Philippines and Mexico. But archival and material documentation suggests that such works originated in Guatemala, where mother-of-pearl and tortoiseshell were harvested locally and considered prized commodities. Many items made of these materials were exported to Mexico and Peru. The designs draw on a range of European and Asian sources, which local artists creatively reinterpreted.

Ilona Katzew

2024
Provenance: Private collection, Mexico, early 20th century; Carmen Argudo, Madrid, c. 1900; by inheritance to her sister Julia de Benítez, Madrid; by inheritance to her daughter María Segovia, Madrid; Etienne Breton, Saint Honoré Art Consulting, Paris, 2009; LACMA, 2009.
Selected Bibliography: Katzew, Ilona, ed. Archive of the World: Art and Imagination in Spanish America, 1500–1800: Highlights from LACMA’s Collection. Exh. Cat. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art; New York: DelMonico Books/D.A.P., 2022.
Selected Exhibition History: Archive of the World: Art and Imagination in Spanish America, 1500–1800. June 12, 2022 - October 30, 2022
Archive of the World: Art and Imagination in Spanish America, 1500–1800. October 20, 2023 - January 28, 2024
Archive of the World: Art and Imagination in Spanish America, 1500–1800. June 22, 2024 - September 08, 2024