Portuguese Colonial Desk Box
Late 17th - early 18th centuryAn exceptional, beautiful Portuguese colonial desk box or so called contador. It has a square form mahogany carcass of dovetailed construction. Intricately detailed with finely engraved brass inlay of scrolling foliate arabesques inhabited by stylised birds and ebony mouldings. The side panels are adorned with brass carrying handles against an open work back plate. The drop front opens to reveal an interior fitted with six short drawers above one long drawer each with the original brass ring pull handles and constructed with hand cut dovetail joinery. This contador exemplifies the refined Indo-Portuguese taste for luxuriant vegetal ornament and meticulous metal-inlaid decoration.
A number of comparable seventeenth-century inlaid pieces include a cabinet in the Victoria and Albert Museum (ibid. p.56), a chest in the Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga, Lisbon (Bordeaux 1998, p.45, fig.6) and a scribe’s box in a private collection in Portugal (Dias 2002, p.60).
Read more about antique boxes here.
The contador is in good condition and has been lovingly restored and finished to its former glory using a traditional form of French polishing and waxing.
It is and exceptionally rare find and we are proud we can present it to you.
The box is currently held for an exhibition later in 2026. Please enquire if interested in purchasing.
Find out more about Portuguese Colonial Cabinets.
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Goa
Portuguese colonial India
H: 35 cm W: 50 cm D: 34 cm
H: 13 ¾” W: 19 ½” D: 13”
