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Collections

Unidentified artists
Casket (Cofre)late 17th or early 18th century

On view:
Geffen Galleries, The Iberian World: From Spain to Spanish America
Small wooden casket with domed lid, densely inlaid with cream bone or ivory geometric patterns of diamonds, chevrons, and triangles against a dark ground, with iron lock hardware
Domed casket with dark wood and tortoiseshell body, inlaid with geometric patterns of ivory or bone in triangles, diamonds, and chevrons; two ornate metal hinges and a central clasp on the front.
Artist or Maker
Unidentified artists
Title
Casket (Cofre)
Place Made
Mexico, possibly Campeche
Date Made
late 17th or early 18th century
Medium
Wood, iron, tortoiseshell, and bone
Dimensions
6 1/8 × 8 1/2 × 5 in. (15.6 × 21.6 × 12.7 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Ronald A. Belkin, Long Beach, California, in memory of Charles B. Tate, Long Beach, California
Accession Number
M.2014.196
Classification
Furnishings
Collecting Area
Latin American Art
Curatorial Notes

This chest incorporates bone and tortoiseshell inlay into fine geometric designs, employing a technique known as embutido. It was likely made in Campeche, an important woodworking center in the viceroyalty of New Spain.


From exhibition Archive of the World, 2022 (for more information see the catalogue entry by Patricia Díaz Cayeros in the accompanying publication, cat. no. 78, pp. 305–09)

Provenance

Michael Haskell Antiques, Montecito, California; Ronald A. Belkin, Long Beach, California, 2007; LACMA, 2014.

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.
  • Díaz Cayeros, Patricia. “Mobiliario novohispano con diseños geométricos: maderas, carey y hueso.” Res Mobils. Revista internacional de investigación en mobiliario y objetos decorativos 10, no 13 (2021): 31–53.
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. 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. October 20, 2023 - January 28, 2024
  • Archive of the World: Art and Imagination in Spanish America, 1500–1800. June 22, 2024 - September 08, 2024
  • Archive of the World: Art and Imagination in Spanish America, 1500–1800. June 22, 2024 - September 08, 2024