Armoire

Armoire

circa 1750
Artist
unknown artist
Country
Paraguay
Object
armoire
Medium
Paint on wood
Accession Number
1992.44A-B
Credit Line
Anonymous Gift

Unknown artist, Armoire, about 1750. Painted wood; 71½ × 36¼ in. Anonymous Gift, 1992.44A-B.

Dimensions
height: 71.5 in, 181.6100 cm; width: 36.25 in, 92.0750 cm
Department
Mayer Center, Latin American Art
Collection
Latin American Art

This painted cabinet from Paraguay is made of a tropical cedar hardwood known as lapacho and, most likely, was made in the eighteenth-century Franciscan missions of the Alta Parana area of central Paraguay. The interior doors are painted with vases full of flowers. The back of the interior has vertical bands and swags, typical of textile patterns from the 1700s, painted in pinks and greens on a blue ground. The exterior is painted with large red and green volutes on a pale green ground. In addition to painted flowers, the scalloped crest has a carved heart pierced by seven swords, symbolizing the Seven Sorrows of the Virgin Mary.
-- Donna Pierce, 2015

Known Provenance
Bequest of Robert Stroessner 11 March 1992 to the Denver Art Museum. Provenance research is on-going at the Denver Art Museum. Please e-mail provenance@denverartmuseum.org, if you have questions, or if you have additional information to share with us.