"HISPANO-MORESQUE MUDEJAR IVORY AND BONE-INLAID WALNUT CHEST...

Estimate

£6,000 - £8,000

"HISPANO-MORESQUE MUDEJAR IVORY AND BONE-INLAID WALNUT CHEST,
BARCELONA, POST-NASRID SPAIN,
16TH - 17TH CENTURY"

Of typical rectangular shape, resting on rectangular wooden lintels raising the body from the ground, the sides, and both the interior and exterior of the lid clad in fine ivory and bone marquetry work (taracea), the decoration on the exterior of the lid consisting of a large central roundel flanked by four smaller roundels, all filled with interlacing geometric and stellar patterns, mostly in the form of six and twelve-pointed stars, diamond-shaped and scalloped friezes running around the edges, the sides with rectangular panels featuring a variety of designs including star-filled chequered boards, hexagonal star medallions within scrolling meanders, and five interlocking strapwork roundels with kaleidoscopic starbursts, the fretwork friezes on the corners inlaid with bone and coloured wood creating a two-tone effect, the interior of the lid mirroring the exterior but more ornate, featuring diamond-shaped infinite knot medallions and a very large sun-like crown with lobed petals surrounding the central roundel with chequered ground, the inner walls lined in worn red velvet,