Spanish-Colonial Furniture Comes of Age - Again!

Text by Dennis B. Farrell Photographs by Sean Brady Southwesternstyle furniture, enjoying another resurgence in popularity, had its origin in New Mexico (of which Arizona once was a part) in the 17th century. These Spanishor MexicanColonial pieces were not the finished products of the modern craftsmen of Santa Fe, Tucson, or Phoenix. The work was rough and basic, all of it made by hand with only the most primitive tools. But even with limited implements the craftsmen of old produced raised panels that were ornamented beautifully, mortiseand-tenon and dovetail joints, and other carved and sawed embellishments. During that early period, the art of furniture making was

(PREVIOUS PANEL, PAGES 32 AND 33) Inspired perhaps by an ancient Roman aqueduct is this detail from the 17th century Spanish Pie de Puente, the elaborately carved base for the writing desk (BELOW), on display at The Heard Museum in Phoenix. The desk is actually a chest with a variety of small drawers.

restricted to certain families who had a corner on trade secrets, though theoretically the carpintero trade, as all other crafts, was open to all, according to Lonn Taylor, assistant director of the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History and coauthor of New Mexican Furniture, 16001940. An important work on "vernacular" furniture of the Southwest, his book is both an authoritative and visually pleasing history of furniture making from the time of the Spanish conquistadors to those harsh times just before the outbreak of World War II. In an interview, Taylor talked of furniture made by local artisans for local use. "They weren't mass-produced; they weren't made for a national market," said Taylor. "They weren't designed by professional designers, although . . . they were désigned. And they were intentionally designed. They conformed to local design committees." One set of rules promulgated by a design committee, for example, established the dimensions of small chests as follows: height and depth are to be equal, and the width must be twice that measurement plus one-tenth of a vara. (One vara is roughly an English yard.) There also were set rules for laying out ornamentation, such as floral designs on the panels of chests. The craftsmen of colonial New Mexico evidently learned their trade well because their decorative designs are regarded highly by today's collectors. Chests, many of military origin, were the most popular items of furniture because they provided a personal space for storing things. They were joined with dovetails and had divisions and secret compartments as well. Front and side panels often were carved with such heraldic designs as lions, pomegranates, and rosettes. The next most common items, said Taylor, were chairs, which had wide slats, skirts and stretchers, and were not all that comfortable to sit on. Benches were also common. Generally, however, furniture of any kind was scarce. A glimpse at the wills of many well-to-do Spanish colonists shows that they had large land holdings, great herds of sheep and cattle, huge houses, but few chairs, tables, or chests. Spanish-Colonial woodworkers also made turned balusters and closed cabinets called armarios, "armoires," which often were carved elaborately. The fact that craftsmen produced turned balusters indicates they used spring-pole lathes, as did woodworkers in Europe at that time. In 1692, when the Spaniards returned to northern New Mexico to retake the area following the 1680 Pueblo Indian revolt, rules governing membership in the carpintero guild were liberalized. As a result, many skilled Indian craftsmen emerged, producing such items as carved altar pieces for churches. In some communities, where iron tools were not available, craftsmen

Spanish-Colonial Furniture

(LEFT) Contemporary works by Arizona craftsmen include these mesquite doors in the Mission style of the 1700s by Tucson artisan Robert Whatley of Territorial Trends. Desk seen on the left is a Mexican Chippendale style of the early 19th century by Lupe-Ryan. The chair, at right in photo, is in the Santa Fe style, also by Lupe-Ryan. (BELOW) This library desk, created in Old Spain, also is on display at the Heard Museum. It was commissioned by Mrs. Heard in the early years of this century.

They used implements of stone. What iron tools there were in the 17th and 18th centuries included axes, adzes, chisels, augurs, saws, and planes. Even so, historians report finding at least one craftsman using stone tools until well into the 19th century.

Native ponderosa pine was used in the furniture of Spanish New Mexico. It is a soft wood that works well with hand tools. It continues to be used for most modern Southwestern furniture, although some companies prefer harder woods, such as oak, walnut, and mesquite. During the colonial period, the pine trees were felled with axes, dragged out of the forest by oxen, and cut into lumber in pit-sawing operations.

It was not until the early 19th century, when the Santa Fe Trail was opened to commerce, that the furniture picture began to change. The trail was connected to St. Louis through which flowed a tide of manu factured goods from England and New England. In the holds of the hundreds of freight wagons that arrived at Sante Fe were chests of drawers, bookcases, lounges, washstands, and writing desks. The Santa Fe Trail spurred development of the first sawmill in the territory as more and better tools became available. This, in turn, paved the way for new items of local furniture, such as the trastero, a ventilated cupboard with legs that are at least 14 inches long. While New

Mexico was enjoying its first taste of civilization, the territory to the west, now Arizona, remained unsettled, although there were small population centers at Tucson and Tubac. There were carpenters and one or two cabinetmakers in those early days, but the wealthier inhabitants preferred the more ornate furniture that arrived by freight wagon from the East. During the period 1870 to 1910, Anglo influences were blended with Hispanic designs to produce attractive furniture: chests of drawers, couches, and wash-stands. In the 1930s, the Works Progress Administration sponsored programs to teach Southwestern furniture making, resulting in a surge of popularity. Today Southwestern-style furniture, also called Mexican-or Spanish-Colonial, or Santa Fe style, once again has attract-ed the buying public. This resurgence was bolstered by a 1989 article featuring the work of several Santa Fe craftsmen in Fine Woodworking maga-zine. The article gave the Southwestern style credibility alongside traditional American and European designs. Two of the most popular items appearing in furniture galleries in Tucson, Phoenix, and Scottsdale are trasteros and armoires designed for housing entertainment centers: televi-sion sets, videocassette record-ers, and stereo equipment. Close behind are dining sets, followed by sofa and pottery tables. Craftsmen in both Tucson and Phoenix produce a sizable amount of this Southwestern retail furniture, as well as made-to-order pieces, most in their own distinctive designs, yet adhering to those simple, clean lines that have made the furniture attractive. Generally speaking, these modern-day woodworkers are using ponderosa pine for their products, as did the early New Mexico carpinteros. But Tuc-son custom builders Stephen Paul, Brian Kelly, and Clint Trafton favor mesquite, a hard-wood native to the desert regions of the Southwest. In Phoenix, custom craftsmen like Michael Besler favor pon-derosa pine. Besler's styles closely follow the designs of the early New Mexico furniture makers. His armoires and trasteros are made with the traditional through tenons. He abrades the wood to "age" it, returning to the 20th century for durable modern finishes.

As in any industry, some “trendy influences” have surfaced that Sali Katz, author of Hispanic Furniture, warns buyers against. The Tucsonan said some pieces are being painted in “really garish colors, such as pink and purple.” These, she contended, will not endure. Katz, who holds a master's degree in interior design and has been an art teacher for a number of years, believes Southwestern furniture will become accent pieces. “We should selec-tively become eclectic and choose what pleases us,” she suggested.

Another source of Southwestern furniture today is Old Mexico. Generally, the pieces found there are somewhat heavier than the American product and much more ornate.

One Phoenix manufacturer, Francesca Duran, for a time shipped lumber to Mexico to have furniture built there. Later she began producing furniture at a central Phoenix shop where she employs three craftsmen.

In another operation that suggests shipping coals to Newcastle, Ken and Linda Smalley, operators of Contents, export Southwestern-style furniture made of mesquite to Santa Fe, among other places. The Smalleys sponsor local craftsmen and feature their work in their north Tucson furniture store.

Tamara Scott-Anderson, interior designer on the Contents staff, said Tucson crafts-men often produce pieces that are a “combination of Desert and Danish styles. People come out to Arizona looking for cleaner lines,” she said.

Tucson's contributions to the Southwestern style, said Robert Whatley, owner of Territorial Designs in that city, are bigger panels in armoires and plainer ornamentation. One of Whatley's suppliers is Walt Butler, who traces his lineage back to a line of ship's carpenters. He creates custom doors and other fine carpentry works and has built a particularly hand-some armoire for Whatley's store in a style that strongly suggests a French Provincial influence.

As for the future: “I think Southwestern has always been around,” Whatley commented. “It's a trend right now, which in the next 10 years will begin to dwindle again. But it will always be a furniture item that people will want.” Sali Katz's parting thought points up the feelings of many of the skilled craftsmen who enjoy creating furniture in the old/new Southwestern style: “A lot of folk furniture is gimmicky and trendy,” said Katz, “but the quality pieces such as trasteros, armoires, and dining sets will some day be considered art....”