An Anglo-Chinese Camphor Campaign Writing Chest Brought from Philippines in the 1880s

Abstract

A Regency style campaign chest of drawers desk made in Kamagong wood by Chinese cabinetmakers established in the Philippines. Its owner was Don Ramon Martinez-Labiarón, canon of the Cathedral of Manila. He brings it as part of his luggage when returns to Asturias after the earthquake that devasted Manila in 1880.

The discovery of this piece in Grandas de Salime, a small Asturian village with difficult access in the 19th century is an example of the penetration of high-quality foreign furniture styles thought the maritime ports of the North of Spain.