Cabinet / Bargeño
Author: Unknown
Origin: Unknown
Dating: 17th century (?)
Material: Wood (Teak), Metal, Ivory & Turtle Shell
Dimensions (cm): 62,5 x 109,6 x 38,2
Inv. no.: PD0402
Bargueños are typical Spanish pieces of furniture. They serve as portable offices, both for writing and for storing documents or other small valuables. Arabs introduced bargueños during their presence in the Iberian Peninsula but they peaked in the 16th and 17th centuries.
The origins and true meaning of the word “bargueño” is unknown. Traditionally, the origins of the name is attributed to the people of Bargas (province of Toledo) – supposedly the main producer of this type of furniture – or to a prestigious cabinet-maker from Toledo named Vargas.
The term “bargueño” was firstly used in 1872, by Juan Facundo Riaño, in the “Catalogue of the Art Objects of Spanish production” of the Victoria and Albert Museum (London) and was admitted by the Real Academia Española (Royal Spanish Academy) in 1914.
