Still Life with an Ebony and Ivory Cabinet, Tortoiseshell Chest, and Sweets showcases an opulent display of luxury objects found in wealthy homes across Southern Europe in the 17th century. Painted by Bernardo Polo, the still life features a gleaming silver and tortoiseshell chest, an intricately decorated ebony and ivory cabinet, and a basket of delicately glazed pastries. Through the rare and costly materials on display, the painting subtly alludes to the vast global networks of trade and labor that sustained Spain’s empire.

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The painting highlights Polo’s extraordinary skill in rendering texture, from the polished surfaces of the Indo-Portuguese chest, likely made in Goa, to the warm, earthen tones of the small red clay búcaros, prized by Spanish and Italian aristocratic women for their scent and supposed medicinal properties. A soft light glows across the arrangement, drawing attention to the sugared pastries, a subtle reference to the lucrative sugar trade that fueled transatlantic commerce and the forced labor systems that sustained it.

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Among the works attributed to Polo, this is one of the finest examples, with most remaining in private collections in Spain. The painting is shown alongside several 17th-century Dutch still lifes in the museum’s collection, some of which also feature luxury objects linked to global trade. 

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New Acquisition: Bernardo Polo's "Still Life with an Ebony and Ivory Cabinet, Tortoiseshell Chest, and Sweets.

Available at https://unframed.lacma.org/2023/04/24/new-acquisition-bernardo-polo%E2%80%99s-%E2%80%9Cstill-life-ebony-and-ivory-cabinet-tortoiseshell-chest.