Bargueno desk
The
Bargueno (also
Vargueno) is a
desk first produced in the
15th century that continues to be produced to this day. The only other desk which is known to have been continuously produced is the
Trestle desk, but some authorities exclude this desk from consideration because in early times it also served as a
dining table and
money lender's counter.
The Bargueno was sometimes used for sewing or as a jewel chestinstead of solely for reading and writing and storing the necessaryimplements for these activities.
The Bargueno is above all a
Portable desk which ressembles the tophalf of a
Fall front desk. It is basically a chest with its lid onthe side, and an interior equipped with a good quantity of smalldrawers and pigeon holes.
As a general rule the interior of a Bargueno is much more richlydecorated than the exterior. Thus a Bargueno looking very plain from the exterior will have a reasonably rich and well sculpted interior while a Bargueno with impressive exterior decorations will have a truly ornate and extremely rich interior with
ivory inlays and velvet decoration. It is one of the best examples of
wood craftsmanship in
Renaissance Spain.
There was usually a very sturdy iron handle on each side of the Bargueno, to make transport relatively easy for two strong servants. A Bargueno could be set down on any solid table but there were often ready made supports for it: The "Taquillon" was a chest of drawers decorated much like it while the "Pie de puente" was a small trestle table also in the same style and material.
Barguenos first appeared in the 15th and were popular all through the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries. After a lull in the 19th century, they became again popular as antiques in the 20th.
The only other major antique combination of a large portable desk and a frame is the more delicate and humble
Desk on a frame of the 18th century. It was popular in
Colonial America.
See also the
list of desk forms and types.
*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
