Artworks
European, viceregal & Asian art
Cabinet (Contador)
Unidentified artists, Guatemala (for export market, possibly Peru), 18th century
Wood, inlaid with tortoiseshell and mother-of-pearl; brass; copper fittings; and iron hinges
Overall height: 212 cm (83 7/16 in.)
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Further images
Acquired by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA)
Made in Guatemala for the export market, possibly Peru, this cabinet combines two superimposed bureaux with a matching stand (bufete). Mother-of-pearl and tortoiseshell inlays cover its architectural forms with floral and geometric ornament.
Ilona Katzew identifies Guatemala as the place of production, drawing on archival and material evidence. The ensemble brings together European cabinet forms and decorative ideas associated with the exchange of objects between the Americas, Europe and Asia.
Acquired by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). Accession no. M.2024.98a-c.
Literature
Ilona Katzew, “Cabinet (Contador),” LACMA Collections, curatorial note, 2024.
https://collections.lacma.org/object/280446