13: Esau Cabinet

This cabinet, which can be seen in the dining room of Mount Edgcumbe House, is a 16th century Spanish Bargueno (or Vargueno). Research suggests that it came into the Edgcumbe family through Louisa Marshall who married Richard Darke Edgcumbe in the early part of the 19^th century.

The bargueno was bequeathed to the National Maritime Museum in 1971 by the wife of Captain Piers Edgcumbe who had died in 1958. Captain Piers was the last direct descendant of John Edgcumbe, whose younger brother William had married Hilaria de Cotehele in 1381, and from whom the Earls of Mount Edgcumbe are descended. Ownership of the bargueno was transferred to Mount Edgcumbe in 2005.

A bargueno is a form of portable desk or writing cabinet. They were a popular piece of furniture in colonial Spain and were sometimes taken on board ships by commanders. The interior comprises small drawers, pigeon holes etc. for storing writing supplies, documents, jewellery and other valuables. The front panel drops down to form a writing desk. A bargueno could be set down on any solid table but often had a readymade support of the same material and style. Some had a trestle table but this example has a chest of drawers or ‘taquillon’ which dates from a later period. As a general rule the interior of a bargueno is more richly decorated than the exterior.

The scene on the front of the bargueno at Mount Edgcumbe depicts Esau, named on the left, shooting a deer. The motto reads something like “with strong faith come many friends”.

It is not known how the bargueno came to be in England. It is dated 1588 which raises an interesting possibility. 1558 was the year of the Spanish Armada. Was the bargueno on one of the Spanish ships sent to invade England? According to legend the commander of the Spanish Armada, the Duke of Medina Sidonia, planned to make Mount Edgucmbe his home in England once the English had been defeated. How fitting then that a Spanish bargueno from that time should end up in Mount Edgcumbe House.

The scene on the front of the bargueno at Mount Edgcumbe depicts Esau, named on the left, shooting a deer. The motto reads something like “with strong faith come many friends”.