Still, it remains an overlooked and under-researched subject.
Installation view of of A Room of Her Own at the Hispanic Society.
The tarima would have been covered with lush rugs, pillows, and cushions for lounging.
Rogelio de Egusquiza Barrena,Dama en un interior elegante(Lady in a Fancy Interior), 1874. Oil on panel.
Sturdier furniture arrived later, and was often smaller in scale compared to the furniture for men.
(Estrado furniture was calledmuebles ratones,or mouse furniture.)
A brass brazier, like the one in the foreground, would have been used to hear the room.
Objects like an ivory-inlaid chest (rear), a cobalt goblet (left), a tray with bobbin lace decoration (right), and a glass flask (foreground) would fill out an estrado.
It was the optimal luxury furniture, Rodriguez-Jack says.
Its noteworthy that the finest treasures in a wealthy familys home would live in the womans quarters.
It would say, Estrado rug, imported from Turkey, or 24 estrado pillows, imported from China.
Installation view of of “A Room of Her Own” at the Hispanic Society.
So its clearly a very, very important space, says Rodriguez-Jack.
Were talking about a period where women arent necessarily wandering the streets unaccompanied.
If you have money, you are inside, you do not leave your house, says Rodriguez-Jack.
An ornate writing desk, like the one pictured here, would have been an “optimal luxury” item, says curator Alexandra Rodriguez-Jack. A brass brazier, like the one in the foreground, would have been used to hear the room.
But there is some indication of subversion and female agency within the estrado, too.
Colonial extravagance always comes at a costespecially to the populations it exploits.
But silver was often extracted using forced labor from Indigenous workers, and conditions could be horrific.
An incense or perfume burner in the shape of a turkey, made from silver in the 18th century.
An incense or perfume burner in the shape of a turkey, made from silver in the 18th century.
That the estrado fell so quickly from cultural memory after that is a mystery to scholars like Rodriguez-Jack.
Its exciting to just scratch the surface, says Rodriguez-Jack.
Im hoping this is just the beginning.
