Artworks
European, viceregal & Asian art
Small Bureau for the Estrado
Paraguay, possibly San Blas de Itá, 18th century
Wood with contrasting wood and shell inlays; bone knobs
74 × 51 × 36 cm
This compact bureau combines a fall-front writing surface with lower drawers and an intricately arranged interior of pigeonholes and small drawers. Contrasting woods, shell inlays and bone knobs connect it...
This compact bureau combines a fall-front writing surface with lower drawers and an intricately arranged interior of pigeonholes and small drawers. Contrasting woods, shell inlays and bone knobs connect it with colonial Paraguayan cabinetmaking. Its small scale suggests use in an estrado, a domestic reception space. The proposed association with the Franciscan mission of San Blas de Itá remains a reasoned possibility rather than a documented workshop attribution.