Artes de México Carved Hardwood Three-Drawer Chest, Signed S. Mora View Watchlist >
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Lot # F629
System ID # 29349027
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Artes de México Carved Hardwood Three-Drawer Chest, Signed S. Mora
A Mexican colonial-revival chest of three graduated drawers, built in solid wood with a planked, pegged top and recessed panel construction to the sides and back. The drawer fronts carry pairs of forged iron pull plates cast with acanthus scroll and shell motifs over swag-form bail handles — heavy, hand-finished hardware with a dark, aged patina. Scrolled corbel brackets flank the cornice, and a stepped base molding rides on turned bun feet. The overall silhouette draws directly from the 17th-century Spanish colonial cómoda tradition — broad, low, architecturally scaled — brought forward in time by a mid-20th-century Mexican workshop fluent in that language.
The chest carries a printed label on the painted underside reading "Made in Mexico for Artes de México Internacionales, S.A., Ciprés 377, Mexico, D.F." and a carved "S. MORA" signature to the lower case. Artes de México Internacionales operated from Mexico City during the mid-20th century, supplying the U.S. import market with hand-built furniture rooted in Spanish colonial cabinetry vocabulary. Their output was distinguished by genuine solid-wood construction, traditional raised-panel joinery, and forged ornamental hardware rather than stamped reproductions — characteristics this chest demonstrates fully. The carved artisan signature S. Mora is consistent with workshop practice at higher-grade Artes de México production, where individual craftsmen marked pieces in the manner of European guild tradition.
CONDITION
Good and structurally sturdy throughout. Finish wear and loss are present across the case, heaviest to the top, which shows scratches, ring marks, and a seam check running in from the front edge; the planked top has visible seam lines consistent with natural wood movement. Gaps at the drawer bottoms and side panel joints, and remnant white paint or gesso to portions of the underside and lower case.
DIMENSIONS / SPECIFICATIONS
- Overall: 35" H × 39¾" W × 19½" D
- Drawers: 3, graduated
- Materials: Solid wood, forged iron hardware
- Maker: Artes de México Internacionales, S.A., Ciprés 377, Mexico, D.F.
- Artisan Signature: "S. MORA" (carved, lower case)
