Writing Desk with The Visitation (oil painting on inner lid)
Category
Furniture
Date
1500 - 1599
Materials
Cedar or cypress, paint, iron
Measurements
55.2 x 73.2 x 37.2 cm
Place of origin
Azores
Order this imageCollection
Great Chalfield, Wiltshire
NT 539367
Summary
A writing cabinet or desk, in cedar or cypress, made in the Azores, 16th century. Fitted with a hinged lid enclosing five drawers and painted in oil with a half-length of The Visitation with the Virgin Mary and Elizabeth, both expecting children (John the Baptist and Jesus Christ), recorded in the biblical Gospel of Luke (1:39–56). Around the border of the front is inscribed: N. HOC/COG/NOVIT/ORVOL/VISTME.
Provenance
Included on 1942 inventory of furniture.
References
Coelho 2020: Maria Ines Simoes Coelho, Trading Chests: studies into the presence of Azorean chests in England, unpublished dissertation, December 2020, Figures 17-21, pp. 63-7