Cabinet
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Unknown artist, Cabinet, 1600s. Wood, mother of pearl, tortoise shell, and bone; 36½ × 36¼ × 19¾ in. Gift of the Collection of Frederick and Jan Mayer, 2015.564A-N.
Chests were the most common furniture form in Spain and the colonies with portable writing chests that could be placed on stands or tables being particularly popular. Furniture forms veneered with fine wood marquetry had been produced in Spain for centuries with strong influence from Islamic furniture traditions. The use of mother of pearl and tortoise shell became popular in marquetry after the opening of new trade routes brought Asian decorative arts to Europe and the Americas and as a result of the accessibility of these raw materials in the Americas after the Spanish conquest.
--Donna Pierce, 2015
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