Bargueño Or Desk With Bridge Base. Wood, Metal. Spanish School, 17th Century.

Bargueño or desk with bridge base. Wood, metal. Spanish School, 17th century.
Requires restoration.
Bargueño or covered wastepaper basket resting on a support of the type called a "bridge base" due to its shape (and which is generally later than the desk), made of carved wood and decorated with reliefs of architectural and vegetal elements of classical influence, vases, spherical finials, and twisted columns (two larger ones on each side of the bridge and two more flanking each of them, the latter combining fluted columns at the top and twisted elements at the bottom). On the outside, the wastepaper basket is decorated with cut-out ironwork (with simplified geometric and vegetal elements) placed on textiles, with handles, shell-shaped nails, pulls, knobs, etc., and a bolt in the center with architectural elements that clearly recall the Baroque period. Upon opening the façade, we discover the three-tiered display cabinet and several corridors (which do not correspond between these heights), with drawers with shell-shaped knobs and simple panels, and others with columns and metal knobs of the same shape, as well as chapels with architectural motifs on the façade, combining gilded elements with polychrome motifs. This furniture is one of the most common and appreciated types of the 17th-century Castilian school, and its influence continued into the 20th century. The exterior decorations varied, as did the arrangement of the drawers and chapels inside. The personality of the Spanish style was so strong in the 17th century that it prevented any external influence, especially from France due to the poor diplomatic situation at the time, which had a great influence on the rest of Europe, where French models dominated. The 17th century in Spain was a period of decadence, which was largely reflected in the furniture. There were no pieces as luxurious as in other countries, a fact also determined by the pragmatic anti-luxury dictated by the monarchs. However, Spanish furniture of the Baroque period was of considerable quality, with enormous personality and, above all, great interest in terms of typology and the search for functionality over decoration. It is also worth noting that the value of furniture increased compared to the previous century. If we look at the inventories of goods, we see significant changes, with furniture becoming even more expensive than tapestries during the time of Charles II.
Dimensions: 97x46x145 cm.