Matched Pair of Spanish Colonial Revival Pine Three-Drawer Chests, Mid-20th C.

A well-matched pair of pine chests in the Spanish Colonial Revival manner — the kind of pieces that have furnished New Mexico living rooms, guest casitas, and hacienda bedrooms for generations. Each case carries three graduated drawers framed by ochre-painted raised moldings set against a warm honey-brown finish, with cast iron pulls depicting paired winged figures flanking a draped swag — a folk-baroque motif pulled straight from the Churrigueresque ornamental vocabulary that traveled north from New Spain and became the signature hardware language of the Revival style. Engaged half-columns with stepped carved capitals bracket the front corners; each chest rests on a stepped plinth over turned bun feet.

The thick plank tops are corner-pegged, consistent with hand-assembly, and edged with a dark inset banding. Side panels carry the same ochre-trimmed recessed-panel treatment as the drawer fronts — full four-sided architectural finish, not a showroom shortcut. The Spanish Colonial Revival drew on the bargueño and papelera traditions of 17th-century Iberian furniture: bold ironwork, rectilinear paneling, ecclesiastical ornament. Production ran from roughly the 1890s through the 1940s across California, New Mexico, and Texas, in studios ranging from large commercial shops to individual craftsmen working hacienda and mission commissions. Construction and finish here are consistent with mid-20th-century Revival production.

CONDITION

Good overall. Both chests show light surface wear, minor scuffing and softening to the ochre painted trim, and handling marks to the case finish consistent with use and age. Drawers operate smoothly. Bun feet show wear and rounding at contact points.

DIMENSIONS / SPECIFICATIONS

• Each chest: 33" H × 39" W × 19½" D
• Drawers per chest: 3 graduated
• Hardware: Cast iron winged-figure-and-swag bail pulls, two per drawer
• Construction: Pine, ochre-painted moldings, turned bun feet
• Lot includes: 2 chests