Lot 44

EMPIRE CHEST OF DRAWERS

This very rare Empire chest of drawers from the island region of Mallorca is called "fernandinas", i.e. in a style typical of the reign of King Ferdinand VII of Spain, who faced the French invasion known as the Spanish War of Independence until 1813. Some of its elements are related to French Empire, although it is much more similar to the more restrained central European Viennese Biedermeier. What is truly unique, however, are the carvings of the front legs rendered with the motif of a mythological animal known in mythology as the hippocampus, a sea horse that has the front half of the body of a horse and the back half of the body of a fish. On the sides, we then find carvings of angels in stylized plant treads. A total of four drawers are decorated with impressive gilt bronze fittings. The body of the chest of drawers and the base made of mahogany wood has an oval inlay at the head. Completely restored.