VARGUEÑO ON STAND Renaissance, Spain. Decor with Moorish influence, 17th century. Walnut, richly and finely inlaid with partly engraved bone in the form of geometric decoration and arabesques. The front drawer inlaid with three round arches, the centre with an architectural depiction, the flanking arches with flower vases, framed by geometric friezes and arabesque tendrils. Hinged lid opening onto a compartment and hinged drawer in front of ten drawers and two doors. The interior inlaid to match the exterior. Iron lock and bronze mounts. On a stand with six twisted columns on yoke feet connected by a cut-out bar. 1 key. 89 × 55 (106) × 138.5 cm. Front drawer slightly warped. Larger defect on the right side. Signs of use. Flaws and minor repairs to inlays. The stand replaced. Provenance: Private property in western Switzerland from the Château de Courtaney à Avry, Fribourg. Mentioned in an inventory from March 1974. Vargueño is a Spanish piece of furniture from the 15th century of Moorish or Arabic origin. It consists of a wooden chest with a hinged drawer. The inside of the chest is fitted with a large number of drawers and compartments, which were originally used to store jewellery and documents. The drawer fronts are often inlaid with ivory, silver or gold. The base consists of either another chest or a frame of baluster legs spanned by ornate arcades based on French and Italian Renaissance models. The decoration of the marquetry is based on the predominant Mudejar style of the Iberian peninsula, which mixes Moorish and continental European formal language. Cf. Monique Riccardi-Cubitt, The art of the cabinet, London, 1992, p. 37 with illustration of a very similar Portuguese vargueño in the 'Plateresque style', late 16th century.