  a desk on a chest is an antique portable desk made up of two chests, the bottom one usually having drawers and the top one having a hinged desk surface which also serves as a side mounted lid. a vargueÃ±o or bargueÃ±o desk is a specific form of the "desk on a chest" when it is mounted on a chest of drawers called a "taquillon". the "desk on a chest" was popular during the renaissance and to some extent during the middle ages, in much of europe. it was also used by officers as a form of campaign desk during much of the 18th and 19th centuries. when the top and bottom chests are permanently attached or built as one piece there is a desk form called a fall front desk. it is supposed that the fall front desk form gradually evolved from the desk on a chest towards the end of the renaissance. see also the list of desk forms and types. 
Desks