Large wooden chest with sgraffiti and incrustations.

Large wooden chest with sgraffiti and incrustations. Colonial work. Oaxaca. Mexico. 18th century. This characteristic works, made, as María Paz Aguiló notes, "with the technique of sumach inlay, calcined bituminous lime paste, and black ink vegetable die extracted from campeche logwood, which forms threads that are pressed into the furrows in the wood, making figurative decorative elements.” The decoration could be of city views, more unusually, or of scenes with characters. This trunk has magnificent decoration of scenes with characters. On the lid are kings and queens, or nobles, with women playing instruments. On the front is a nymph in a garden. All the scenes are surrounded by friezes. This type of furniture clearly indicates the high social prestige of its owner, as Gustavo Curiel notes on finding this type of furniture among the inventory of aristocratic families. It is also interesting to highlight the influence of books and engravings which came from Europe, as can be observed in the mythological and allegorical scenes which decorate this type of furniture. A similar example to this one is kept in the collections at the Franz Mayer Museum in Mexico. There is also a magnificent desk among the collection at the National Archaeological Museum in Madrid, Bibliography: "Aproximaciones al estudio del mueble Novohispano en España". María Paz Aguiló. Publisher: Publicaciones del CSIC. 45 x 87 x 43 cm.