PXL_20250418_190724784

Sat, 14 Feb 2026 07:49:23 +0100

Casa de Montejo, the oldest of its seigniorial manors.

Mérida de Yucatán received the influence of the predominant European styles during the so-called "Victorian age", which refers to the long-lived reign of Queen Victoria, who ruled England from 1837 to 1901. During this long period, decorative styles known as "Revival" styles prevailed, including the neo-Greek, neo-Gothic, neo-Rococo, and the neo-Renaissance, which flourished particularly in France and England.

The very eclecticism of the Victorian Age extended throughout the cities of Yucatán and the Casa de Montejo was no stranger to this movement. In a sitting room or a bedroom half a dozen different styles could exist side by side in a harmonious setting.

As the years passed, the styles gave way to others. For example, the neo-Rococo was replaced by the Italian neo-Renaissance. The Casa de Montejo received all of them without diminishing their excellence or distinction.

At the end of the nineteenth century, the Edwardian style, named in honor of Queen Victoria's son Edward VII, who ruled Great Britain in 1901-1910, began to dominate some residences and government buildings. Massive furniture and dark wood embodied respectability and the wealth of the proprietors.

As a result of the growing interest in collecting characteristic of the time, furnishing and display cases multiplied to showcase family treasures and decorative objects acquired on journeys to other countries. The second half of the nineteenth century saw the quest for exotic objects from faraway cultures and introduced them into the decoration of rooms and cabinets; Arab-style tables, bronze busts with African and Asian features, ivories, brass, and textiles from India featured among other curiosities.