This casket made by an unknown artist in Italy in the late 15th century is decorated with plaques with dancers and minstrels. On the side are two knights tilting and on the others processions of figures in a landscape. The backgrounds are hatched and show remains of colour. On the bottom is a chequer board of bone and black wooden panels. With metal lock and catch and loops on three sides.
6747-1860 is an almost exact copy. Examples of these caskets are in most collections. Koechlin argued that these caskets were produced under Italian influence in the court circle of Charles VI.
Physical description
Casket decorated with plaques with dancers and minstrels, on the side two knights tilting, and on the others processions of figures in a landscape. The backgrounds are hatched and show remains of colour. On the bottom is a chequer board of bone and black wooden panels. With metal lock and catch and loops on three sides.
Place of Origin
Italy (north, made)
Date
late 15th century (made)
Artist/maker
Unknown
Materials and Techniques
Wood overlaid with carved and tinted bone
Marks and inscriptions
"Casket decorated with plaques with dancers and minstrels, on the side two knights tilting, and on the others processions of figures in a landscape. The backgrounds are hatched and show remains of colour"
Dimensions
Height: 7 cm
Length: 18.2 cm
Width: 14.7 cm
At the bottom of the casket, the dimensions of the chess board are 14 x 14.1 cm.
Each square: 1.7 to 1.8 cm (the sizes are uneven), 8 squares by row. Generally speaking, the bone squares are slightly larger than the wood squares.
Historical context note
6747-1860 is an almost exact copy. Examples of these caskets are in most collections. Koechlin argued that these caskets were produced under Italian influence in the court circle of Charles VI.
Descriptive line
Casket with panels of dancers and musicians, knights jousting, and a procession of figures in a landscape, wood overlaid with bone, Flemish or North Italian, late 15th century
Bibliographic References (Citation, Note/Abstract, NAL no)
Inventory of Art Objects Acquired in the Year 1859. In: Inventory of the Objects in the Art Division of the Museum at South Kensington, Arranged According to the Dates of their Acquisition. Vol I. London: Printed by George E. Eyre and William Spottiswoode for H.M.S.O., 1868, p. 31
Longhurst, Margaret H. Catalogue of Carvings in Ivory. Part II. London: Victoria and Albert Museum, 1929, p. 54
Christies Catalogue: April 13, 1983, cat. no 27
for another casket in Nuremberg see:
Stafski, H. Die mittelalterlichen Bildwerke, Band 1 (Kataloge des Germanischen Nationalmuseums Nürnberg), Nuremberg, 1965, cat.no. 233
for a discussion of this group of boxes see:
Randall, Richard H., Jr. The Golden Age of Ivory: Gothic carvings in North American Collections. New York, 1993, pp. 128-30
Materials
Wood; Bone
Techniques
Carving; Relief; Colouring
Subjects depicted
Figures; Landscape; Dancers; Knight; Minstrel
Categories
Containers; Caricatures & Cartoons; Games; Woodwork; Sport; Sculpture
Collection code
SCP
