The vargueño is a portable desk, the form of which originated in Renaissance Spain. It is designed to be placed on a supporting table or chest of drawers. The exterior is relatively plain with heavy iron carrying handles. The drop-front reveals an arrangement of ivory-mounted, inlaid and parcel-gilt drawers. Displayed here is the secret compartment located at the back of one drawer.
There is a receipt in the family papers indicating that Eva Scott Fenyes purchased the vargueño on June 2, 1906 for $300 from John Chadwick & Co., an antique furniture dealer located in New York City (FCP Papers, Box 15, Folder 7).
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