cabinetry A cabinet is a case or cupboard with shelves and/or drawers for storing or displaying items. Some cabinets are stand alone while others are built in to a wall or are attached to it like a Bathroom cabinet, medicine cabinet. Cabinets are typically ...

, the bargueño (or vargueño, both ; meaning "from

Bargas Bargas is a municipality of Spain located in the province of Toledo, Castilla–La Mancha. The municipality spans across a total area of 89.71 km2 and, as of 1 January 2020, it has a population of 10,535. History Despite the ongoing Almor ...

") is a form of

portable desk {{unreferenced, date=January 2008 The portable desk had many forms and is an ancestor of the portable computer, the modern laptop an atavistic grandchild of the 19th-century lap desk. Medieval era and Renaissance All desks were portable to som ...

, made up of two chests, the bottom one usually having drawers (called a ''taquillón'') and the top one having a hinged

desk A desk or bureau is a piece of furniture with a flat table-style work surface used in a school, office, home or the like for academic, professional or domestic activities such as reading, writing, or using equipment such as a computer. Desks oft ...

surface which also serves as a side-mounted lid. It is basically a chest or box with one of the side panels, rather than the top panel, serving as a fold-out writing surface. The interior of the desk is equipped with small drawers, pigeonholes, etc., for storing papers and supplies. The bargueño has also been used for sewing or as a jewel chest. The bargueño desk originated in

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass id ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' ( Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

. The desk was typically made of wood, with sturdy iron handles located on each side, to make transporting it relatively easy. A bargueño could be set down on any solid table, but often had a ready-made support for it: either a ''taquillón'', a

chest of drawers A chest of drawers, also called (especially in North American English) a dresser or a bureau, is a type of cabinet (a piece of furniture) that has multiple parallel, horizontal drawers generally stacked one above another. In American English a ...

in the same material and style as the bargueño; or a ''pie de puente'', a small trestle table. As a general rule, the interior of a bargueño is much more richly decorated than the exterior. Thus a bargueño looking very plain from the exterior will have a reasonably rich and well sculpted interior, while a bargueño with impressive exterior decorations will have a truly ornate and extremely rich interior. Bargueño desks were first produced in the 15th century and were popular through the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries. After a lull in the 19th century, they became again popular as antiques in the 20th century and continue to be produced today. The only other style of desk which is known to have been continuously produced for so long is the

trestle desk There are two kinds of trestle desk: as with trestle tables, some have trestles joined by one or more stretchers (and sometimes to the desktop), and some have free-standing trestles. They can be dismantled, with the desk top removed from the tr ...

, but some authorities exclude this desk from consideration because in early times it also served as a

dining table A table is an item of furniture with a raised flat top and is supported most commonly by 1 or 4 legs (although some can have more), used as a surface for working at, eating from or on which to place things. Some common types of table are the ...

and

money lender In finance, a loan is the lending of money by one or more individuals, organizations, or other entities to other individuals, organizations, etc. The recipient (i.e., the borrower) incurs a debt and is usually liable to pay interest on that de ...

's counter. Florence Pietre dure cabinet

The only other major antique combination of a large portable desk and a frame is the more delicate

desk on a frame The desk on a frame (or desk on frame) is usually an antique form made up of two pieces of furniture. The first piece is a fairly large and closable portable desk with a slanted hinged top giving access to the writing surface and utility nooks ...

of the 18th century, which was popular in

Colonial America The colonial history of the United States covers the history of European colonization of North America from the early 17th century until the incorporation of the Thirteen Colonies into the United States after the Revolutionary War. In the ...

. When the top and bottom chests are permanently attached or built as one piece there is a desk form called a

Fall front desk The fall-front desk can be considered the cousin of the secretary desk. Both have a main working surface or desktop that does double duty as a cover to seal up papers and other items located in small shelves or small drawers placed one on top of ...

. It is supposed that the fall front desk form gradually evolved from the desk on a chest towards the end of the Renaissance.

References

*Hayward, Helena, ed.. World Furniture: An Illustrated History. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1965. As ''Vargueno'': pp. 63, 64, 103, 160, ill. no. ''197-198, 202'' *Payne, Christopher, ed.. Sotheby's Concise Encyclopedia of Furniture. London: Conran Octopus, 1989. As ''Vargueno'': pp. 29, 30, 36, 67 ill. on pp. ''29, 36''

Bibliography

* Aguiló Alonso, María Paz. Escritorios y bargueños españoles. Spanish bargueños and writing chests. Ministerio de Economía y Empresa. Madrid 2018. .

External links

Anresto-antiquairs.nl
photo {{DEFAULTSORT:Bargueno desk Desks Portable furniture

See also

References

Bibliography

External links