Ivory inlayed wooden chest which must be 100 years old
10 May 2019
Description

It is 44" wide 52" tall and 17" width... Very ornate and detailed item that was given to me from someone who traveled the world.

Provenance

This was given to me by someone with substantial wealth.

Acquired from
Inherited
For sale
Yes
Answered within about 23 hours
By Delia
May 11, 22:10 UTC
Fair Market Value
$10,000 - $15,000 USD
Insurance Value $0 USD
What does this mean?

Good evening, Gayle,

Thank you for contacting Mearto with your appraisal inquiry. Based on the photographs and information provided, and subject to physical examination, this is:

An Anglo Indian (Vizagapatam) ivory inlaid rosewood cabinet
Late 18th or 19th Century
52" High, 44" wide, 17" deep
$10,000-15,000

Please let us know if you have additional items to appraise, and thank you for using Mearto.

Gayle liebowitz Apr 18, 00:16 UTC

Can u please re-evaluate as I believe this piece is:

Muebles Enconchados: Papelero de Marqueses de la Pica

Or.... Mueble Enconchado Bargueño

17th Century FILIPINO (attributed as Bolivian) Of Kamagong or ebony wood with profuse mother of pearl inlay of white vegetal and floral design on a sheet tortoiseshell.

SPANISH COLONIAL MOTHER-OF-PEARL AND TORTOISESHELL-INLAID EBONY CABINET
MID-19TH CENTURY

17th or Early 18th Century
FILIPINO (attributed as Mexican)
A superb mother-of-pearl inlaid cabinet

https://www.1stdibs.com/furniture/storage-case-pieces/cabinets/mexican-cabinet-nacar-shell-inlays-base-columns-are-bronze/id-f_15723741/

Delia Apr 20, 09:35 UTC

Hi Gayle,
I considered Spanish Colonial when I was doing this appraisal but opted for an Anglo-Indian designation because the ivory inlay is a bit more consistent to that area. I can see now that your piece has a small picture of saints in the center of the lower section which would make me think this is Spanish Colonial rather than Anglo-Indian.

The 1stDibs link you've provided is a retail site and priced accordingly (retail is at least 3-4 times the fair-market values - for auction - that Mearto provides) for a much more complex piece with gilt bronze mounts, which always bumps the value up. I am not as well versed on the nuances between Mexican vs Spanish varquenos (I did not call yours that because it lacks the stand present in the other comparables) but Mexican ones are almost certainly more rare than ones made in Spain or other Spanish provinces (if you note in the 1stDibs comments, area of origin is "not yet absolutely defined" so they don't know exactly where this one was made either. The dealer may have had provenance information they don't disclose that also warrants such a high price.)

Varquenos are difficult to sell now because of ivory and other restricted materials issues; you are in California which is particularly stringent on what they will and won't allow to be sold.
I could see changing this to a Spanish Colonial varquento but with an increased value of $15,000-20,000 estimate, which is still within the range of where high-end varguenos are being priced at for auction. It should have a stand (even a newer one made would help the value) and if you wants to sell it you may benefit by disclosing who gave it to you as that may increase demand for this.

Let me know if that is acceptable to you.

Gayle liebowitz Apr 20, 20:31 UTC

These pieces have been exhibited twice as a masterpiece in Zona Maco in Mexico City.

No ivory is confirmed and is likely Mueble Enconchado cabinet chest inlaid mother-of-pearl and tortoiseshell.

Dimensions of mine is 52" High, 44" wide, 17" deep and mimic what looks like Closest comparison for bottom portion here:

https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/16529/lot/101/

Can you provide feedback?

Delia Apr 20, 23:05 UTC

Hi Gayle,
A few thoughts on this.
Tortoiseshell and some mother of pearl (dependant on the species) is restricted for sale, not just ivory.
The market in 2008 was considerably stronger than the current one, plus the examples from the Bonhams sale were both from an extremely well known collection. I will see if I can find out what the pre-sale estimates for both of those pieces were at the time (estimates vs final sale results are always a factor in the valuations process.)
I'm a bit confused by your comment "These pieces have been exhibited twice as a masterpiece in Zona Maco in Mexico City;" do you mean YOUR piece or the examples you are citing as comparables.
Thanks,
Delia

Gayle liebowitz Apr 21, 00:25 UTC

I was told “this piece” (unknown if it is this style or exact item) of furniture is an extraordinary piece, it has been exhibited twice as a masterpiece in Zona Maco in Mexico City.

Delia Apr 21, 13:38 UTC

Good morning, Gayle,
I'm waiting on a friend at Bonhams to see if she can find the estimates on those two pieces when they were offered in 2008.
IF the two parts that you own were exhibited in Mexico City and you could offer proof of that (exhibition catalogs usually exist; you should contact Zona Maco to see if they can confirm having exhibited these) I could see increasing my estimates to $20,000-30,000 with the following advice...the market for Spanish Colonial furniture has been contracting for some time and these may not now be worth what they once were. If you wanted to sell these, you would do best to sell at an auction house with global reach (Bonhams in Los Angeles would be an appropriate place given that they sold the other two pieces in 2008).
Let me know how you'd like to proceed.

Delia Apr 21, 20:53 UTC

Hi Gayle,
I've just heard from my contact at Bonhams, who was able to track down the pre-sale records for the two pieces comparable to yours that were offered in 2008. These are the estimates for each
Lot 100: $5,000-7,000
Lot 101: $7,000-9,000
Cheers,
Delia

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