Italian Merchants in the Early-Modern Spanish Monarchy by Catia Brilli Manuel Herrero Sánchez

Author:Catia Brilli, Manuel Herrero Sánchez [Catia Brilli, Manuel Herrero Sánchez]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Nonfiction, History
ISBN: 9781351766340
Publisher: Taylor and Francis
Published: 2019-05-16T04:00:00+00:00

The Spanish writing desk

Mirrors were, of course, not the only objectifications of power and authority present in the great hall of the Grillo mansion. For a skilful financial politician like Domenico Grillo, often vexed by his foreign origins in the traditionally xenophobic court of Madrid, this would have been the right space to flaunt an unreserved allegiance to the Spanish crown. Both illumined by and multiplied through the glittering enchantment of reflective crystals, half-body portraits of the late King and Queen regent of Spain acted as orthodox signifiers of don Domenico’s commitment to the Spanish Habsburgs. These kingly portraits would have held court upon a number of writing cabinets, a most unique type of furniture which may be considered an archetype of the development of decorative arts in seventeenth-century Spain.49 Ever since the Baroque age, richly decorated writing cabinets have been deemed the greatest exponents of a distinctive Spanish style merging sturdy elements of clear European tradition with intricate, veneered decorations of Mudéjar influence (Figure 2). Eloquently described by Burr50 as ‘an outgrowth of the hutch or the treasure chest’, the Spanish writing desk, usually sober and unpretentious on its exterior, was characterised by a drop-leaf front which could be opened to reveal a number of small – yet sumptuously decorated – drawers or cupboards. When the coffered fall-front was released, it rested on pull-out supports and could thus be used as a writing surface, which explains the initial denomination of these cabinets.

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