Calaixera — Traditional Mallorcan object

What is

Furniture with stacked drawers that occupy its entire width, crowned by a horizontal board: the chest of drawers. In Mallorca calaixera also names any piece of furniture with many drawers ("la calaixera de la sacristia") (DCVB, Mall.). Since the 18th century it has taken on the role of the caixa de núvia : furniture of dowry and prestige.

How is

In Mallorca the domestic chest of drawers is called canterano (DCVB, Bal.); Calaixera is reserved above all for the furniture with many drawers (sacristy).
About five spans high (approx. 1 m), wider than high, with three or more drawers one above the other (DCVB; Viquipèdia).
In wealthy Catalan houses, marble tops and often mirrors (Viquipèdia).
Mallorcan Calaixeres of fine joinery (19th century): flamed sheet metal, S-shaped sides, carved and gilded corners, carved sphinx-shaped legs on a platform (Sotheby's note on a pair attributed to Adrià Ferran i Vallès).
Popular version in pine or local wood: please verify (I have not located a study of the popular Mallorcan furniture).

How is fa

Work of a cabinetmaker (dovetail assembled drawers, veneer, carving) or of a fuster primater for the simple ones.
In Mallorca, the sculptor Sacanell drew sphinx legs in the style of Ferran; The drawing is in the Museu de Mallorca (Sotheby's).
Bibliography: Massot Ramis, Cantarellas Camps and Martínez Esteva, El moble a les Illes Balears: segles XIII-XIX (Institut Balear de Disseny, 1995); Massot Ramis d'Ayreflor, Furniture in Mallorca (Olañeta, 2012).

Com s'usa

In the bedroom or living room: clothes, linen, trousseau.
In sacristies and offices, the calaixera with many drawers stores ornaments or papers.
Above, objects of devotion and portraits: the furniture as a small domestic altar (general use, to be verified in Mallorca).

Vocabulary

calaixera: chest of drawers; in Mallorca, also a piece of furniture with many drawers.
calaix: drawer.
calaixat: synonym of calaixera in sense 2 (DCVB).
canterano: synonymous with comfortable (DCVB).
calaixereta / calaixerota: diminutive / augmentative (DCVB).
xapa: thin wood veneer.

History

17th century: drawer furniture displaces the ark and becomes widespread (Creus, Última Hora 2014).
17th century: sacristy calaixera in the parish of Algaida (AEM 2022).
Mid-15th century: the caixa de núvia incorporates a door and interior drawers, a precursor to the calaixera (Viquipèdia).
Years 1740: the calaixera enters the dowry of wealthy Catalan houses (Viquipèdia).
18th-19th centuries: the so-called Levantine school of furniture includes Catalonia, the Valencian Country and the Balearic Islands (Viquipèdia).
Mid-19th century: Mallorcan mahogany calaixeres, painted and gilded, attributed to Adrià Ferran i Vallès (Sotheby's, 2015).

On veure'n

Museu de Mallorca, Etnològica Section (Wall) : bedroom furnished in Mallorcan style.
Museu de Mallorca (Palma): drawing by Sacanell (Sotheby's).
Sacristies: Algaida (calaixera from the 17th century), Llucmajor (AEM 2022); see cadiram-de-la-seu .
La Granja d'Esporles: marquetry chest of drawers with a six-pointed star (Pou, 2016).

Why is it design

From the chest to the drawer: there is no need to empty everything to get a piece.
Repeated module: the drawer is the unit; The furniture grows by floors.
Legible heritage: wood, sheet metal and gilding say the position of the house.
Local workshop: Palma had its own cabinetmakers with a recognizable style (flame veneer, S-shaped sides).

For the project

Research: catalog of popular Mallorcan furniture in the Museu de Muro and the bibliography of Massot Ramis d'Ayreflor.
Piece: contemporary calaixera with a cabinetmaker from the Part Forana (local pine or olive tree, dovetail drawers).
Trades: carving-and-furniture-Mallorca · fusteria-Mallorca · carving-and-sculpture-in-whip . Workshops: Fusteria Tomeu Mestre (Sineu) , Can Llull Restauració (Palma) . Files: caixa-de-nuvia , eines-de-fuster .

Frequently asked questions

What is Calaixera?

Furniture with stacked drawers that occupy its entire width, crowned by a horizontal board: the chest of drawers. In Mallorca calaixera also names any piece…

What are the traditional words for Calaixera?

Some words: calaix, calaixat, calaixera, calaixereta / calaixerota, canterano, xapa.

Sources

Working text from the Disseny Indígena knowledge base, machine-translated from Spanish.

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