Bargueño in carved white cedar (?) with wrought iron fittings. Michoacán. Mexico. 17th century. 31 x 54,5 x 31 cm. Magnificent example of Novohispanic furniture made in the region of Michoacán. As is customary, it features deep gouge carving on solid wood, creating floral patterns that completely cover the inner part of the piece. The exterior is in turn enriched by the fine wrought iron work that forms the handles, the large central lock, and the decorative hinge fittings, all of great quality and refinement. As we read in the entry by Javier López Serrano, concerning a Michoacán desk that is part of the collection of the Museo de Artes Decorativas, Madrid: “The materials – white cedar wood – the deep gouge carving and the decorative motifs of geometrized flowers of mudéjar origin, which have acquired a more naturalistic appearance, coincide with the type of furniture – especially chests – characteristic of the Mexican region of Michoacán during the 16th and 17th centuries: ‘The vast majority […] are carved with a gouge, creating interesting blends of mudéjar designs that lose their geometry and rigidity as they adopt the exoticism of Michoacán flora: stars and rhombuses become the wild dahlias that cover the fields after the rainy season.’” [Arvizu González, Alfredo D. (dir.), 1984: Franz Mayer. Una colección, México: 152]. (https://ceres.mcu.es/pages/Main)