“hôtel De Ville” Chest In Walnut Wood And Wrought Iron Fittings. Castile, 17th Century.

"Town Hall" chest in walnut wood and wrought iron fittings. Castile, 17th century.
Rectangular chest with a flat lid resting on four spherical feet and a prominent molding at the bottom, reinforced with corner pieces and equipped with two handles with a central disc on the sides and, on the front, three bolts with a decorated lock shield and highlighted on a fabric background, with their respective keys. The latter have a decorated rod and a ring with openwork circular elements. This type of chest is called "Town Hall" or "Council" because of its three locks, each of them closing with its respective key. These pieces of furniture were used in any type of organization, religious or civil, to store valuables, documents or money and each of the keys was entrusted to a person in charge, all three having to be united to open the piece of furniture, thus avoiding any temptation. They were very present in the councils or town halls of cities and other towns, hence their name. From a stylistic point of view, it is located in the Baroque period due to the strength of the lower molding and the movement provided by the feet and the shapes of the different fittings. This typology was already used in the Gothic period and, given its success, it would remain common in the workshops of cabinetmakers and carpenters for many centuries. Sometimes they were made of iron and, in very rare cases, three keys were used to close a silver chest (the one that contained the body of San Isidro, in Madrid). In many places, such as La Rioja, they served as municipal archives, in accordance with the laws inherited from a pragmatic of June 9, 1500 by which the Catholic Monarchs obliged the Councils of their territories to build town halls, prisons and have a chest of privileges and deeds. Although they were very numerous at the time, few examples have come down to us because they fell into disuse and were replaced. Compare with that of the Council of Villafranca de la Marisma (Los Palacios y Villafranca, Seville), that of Valdipiélago (León), that of Matapozuelos (Valladolid), that of the Cabildo of Buenos Aires in Argentina (18th century, following earlier models), etc.
Dimensions: 152x67.5x76 cm