Table-jewelry chest post-Nazari. Spain, XIX century.

Table-jewelry chest post-Nazari. Spain, XIX century.
Marquetry and bone inlay. Silver and metal applications.
In very good condition.
Measurements: 39 x 35 x 24 cm.

Cabinet of Granada manufacture, from around the 19th century, with typical decoration with synthesized six-pointed flowers, borders and geometric ornaments. Of prismatic format, its front opens with two doors that unfold to the interior a network of drawers, mirrors in the form of horseshoe arches and typical Nasrid porticos. The hinged lid is embellished on the inside with a central mirror framed by a carved lattice. This mirror suggests that the chest may have served as a dressing table or jewelry box.
The Nasrid dynasty ruled Granada and the territory of al-Andalus for more than 200 years and oversaw a splendid artistic patronage that is still greatly admired today. The Nasrids developed a sophisticated visual language based on complex geometric designs such as the one presented here.
The inlay technique consists of creating mosaics and other figurative elements through the application of different materials that, combined together, create geometric shapes and drawings of infinite forms. In this way, the different pieces fit perfectly together. To do this, the artisans make several large pieces in which they join the different materials to form the desired pattern. Then they cut them into thin sheets, which will be combined with others and will be finished with metals, mother-of-pearl, ivory, tortoiseshell, bone, etc. In some cases gold and silver are used, and they can have hundreds of different elements. Its origin seems to be in Mesopotamia around 3000 B.C., but it was brought to Spain and Granada by the Muslims. In this city, in particular, this technique has been configured as its own.