The estrado was a women's private drawing room found throughout the Hispanic world during Viceregal Spain (1535-1821). The practice originated in al-Andalus, Islamic Spain, during the late Middle Ages. They served as formal reception spaces for both men and women before becoming codified as exclusively female during the 15th century after which men could only enter upon express invitation.
Designed for upper-class interiors and inhabited by elite women, the estrado paradoxically became a locus of female agency and subversion within a place of confinement. A room of one's own in an age and society where women were otherwise denied personal expression. Here, women engaged in elaborate social practices and displayed collections of valuable objects from the Americas, Asia, and Europe.
The well-appointed estrado has long been a focal point of opulence and intrigue in traveler accounts, inventories, legal records, and works of fiction-routinely referenced in "Don Quixote" as symbols of luxury-and now for the first time, a museum exhibition, thanks to "A Room of Her Own: The Estrados of Viceregal Spain" on view at the Hispanic Society Museum & Library in New York through March 2, 2025.
"In the early modern Hispanic world, the estrado was a room or area within a room where women displayed their most prized possessions, relaxed and entertained, and educated their children," exhibition co-curator Alexandra Frantischek Rodriguez-Jack told Forbes.com. "The estrado becomes a fascinating metaphor for elite women in the Hispanic world -- of wealth, opulence, and impracticality."
Surprisingly, their influence spread far beyond Spain and the Spanish.
"Estrados became important status symbols for women in the Spanish Americas. For instance, in the early 17th century, female Inca elites were among the earliest recorded adopters of the estrado," Rodriguez-Jack explained. "These were very lavish spaces thanks to unprecedented access to material goods/resources in the Americas like silver, as well as objects imported from Asia, trade routes via the Manila Galleons."
The exhibition explores the estrado's profound impact on feminine self-expression and physical autonomy, as well as collecting practices, sociability, and intercultural exchange. A comprehensive array of archival sources and objects are used to question the values historically imposed on gender stereotypes and behaviors, highlighting the estrado's importance as a symbol of power, wealth, and virtue.
"Virtue was important for women of the upper classes, and the estrado also represents a space of confinement as these women rarely ventured into the public sphere unaccompanied," Rodriguez-Jack explained.
Each estrado's contents were largely dictated by geography. Different regions had access to different materials, leading to the adoption of specialized wares for consuming these local goods -- like chocolate in New Spain (Mexico) or mate in viceregal Peru.
"A Room of Her Own" presents decorative objects, paintings, rare books, and engravings from the HSML's unrivaled collection in an entirely new light, with many works being exhibited for the first time. Each artifact is meticulously contextualized through extensive research, offering visitors a nuanced understanding of women's daily lives in the early modern world. From the estrados of formal reception rooms to private bedchambers, women curated magnificent collections bridging continents and cultures, bringing the outside world into these enclosed domestic spaces.
The rooms fell out of fashion during the 19 century as the Spanish empire collapsed and the meaning of the word has been lost.
"The term has evolved from this definition to something entirely different; for instance, native Spanish speakers might hear the word used to describe a kind of stage platform or perhaps a witness stand in a courtroom, rather than a gendered female space," Rodriguez-Jack said.
While she is unaware of any surviving estrados, house museums in Spain have recreated these as so-called "period rooms." Their contents, however, have survived with the luxury objects integrated into subsequent households.
Admission to the Hispanic Society Museum & Library is free, with free guided tours available Fridays and Saturdays at 2:00 pm. Space is limited. Register here.
Concurrently in New York, NYU's Institute for the Study of the Ancient World dives even further into Spain's past presenting Madinat al-Zahra: The Radiant Capital of Islamic Spain, an exhibition focused on the Umayyad caliphate who ruled Spain in the tenth century CE and their palace-city of Madinat al-Zahra (936-1013 CE, 324-403 AH). The exhibition features more than 155 objects demonstrating the power and impact of the Umayyad dynasty.
Madinat al-Zahra was a fortified city on the outskirts of present-day Córdoba, Spain. Under the Umayyads, the Iberian Peninsula -- historically known as al-Andalus -- became a hub for artists, poets, scholars, and diplomats from around the world. These diverse influences came together in a new, distinct artistic style embodying the multicultural spirit of the dynasty.
These influences are apparent in the artifacts selected for ISAW's new exhibition, the first in the U.S. to showcase the splendor of Madinat al-Zahra. Its primary focus is the history of the site, from construction to abandonment, offering a comprehensive selection of capitals, bases, and other architectural elements for viewing. In building Madinat al-Zahra, 'Abd al-Rahman III was inspired by Islamic art from as far as Baghdad and North Africa, but he also valued the artistic legacy of classical Rome, bringing in statues and sarcophagi to decorate the grounds.
"Madinat al-Zahra" also highlights the caliphs' international taste in luxury arts: intricately carved ivory cosmetics boxes were prized throughout the medieval world, while brightly glazed ceramics conveyed the caliph's power to the many visitors to the city. The royal workshops crafted wondrous gifts for foreign rulers, such as bronze fountain spouts in the shape of animals, silver perfume bottles, and ornate jewelry of gold, pearls, and semiprecious stones.
Particular attention in the exhibition is also given to the Umayyads' contributions to science and technology through the display of sundials that were used in early Islamic astronomy.
"The story of the Islamic kingdoms of Europe is one that has remained little told, and yet the gleaming capital of the Umayyad caliphs in Spain was a famed center of the sciences, arts, and literature in the medieval world," Leon Levy Director of Institute for the Study of the Ancient World Alexander Jones said.
The exhibition will also remain on view, free and open to the public, through March 2, 2025. Free guided tours are offered on Fridays at 6:00 PM and on Saturdays at 11:00 AM.