The Fountain of Youth
Casket
ca. 1420-1440 (made)
ca. 1420-1440 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This marriage casket, made in Italy, probably Venice in about 1420-1440 is of silver fir wood, enriched with 'alla certosina' marquetry and covered with bone plaque and depicts the Story of Susanna.
Susanna was an appropriate exemplar of female virtue and chastity for a wedding gift such as this. However the narrative here is degenerated to the point where much of the story is very schematic or incoherent. Additionally the casket is executed rather unappealing and clumsily throughout.
The derivative group of caskets to which the present example belongs may have been produced in the Embriachi workshop in the years before its definite dissolution in 1433, perhaps after the deaths of Baldassare Ubriachi and the head of the workshop Giovanni di Jacopo. If this is the case, then it illustrates the gradual decline of the workshop’s standards. It is also possible, however, that the group represents the output of local imitators, who used the workshop's Susanna caskets as models for their own productions.
The Embriachi workshop was a north Italian family of entrepreneurs and carvers. The precise location of the workshop is unknown, except that it originated in Florence and in ca. 1431 there was apparently a workshop in Venice, in the area of S Luca.
They employed local workers specialising in 'certosina' (inlay of stained woods, bone and horn), and the workshop produced items carved in bone (usually horse or ox) with wood and bone marquetry. As well as altarpieces, the workshop also made caskets as bridal gifts to hold jewels or documents, and these were often decorated with scenes from mythology.
Susanna was an appropriate exemplar of female virtue and chastity for a wedding gift such as this. However the narrative here is degenerated to the point where much of the story is very schematic or incoherent. Additionally the casket is executed rather unappealing and clumsily throughout.
The derivative group of caskets to which the present example belongs may have been produced in the Embriachi workshop in the years before its definite dissolution in 1433, perhaps after the deaths of Baldassare Ubriachi and the head of the workshop Giovanni di Jacopo. If this is the case, then it illustrates the gradual decline of the workshop’s standards. It is also possible, however, that the group represents the output of local imitators, who used the workshop's Susanna caskets as models for their own productions.
The Embriachi workshop was a north Italian family of entrepreneurs and carvers. The precise location of the workshop is unknown, except that it originated in Florence and in ca. 1431 there was apparently a workshop in Venice, in the area of S Luca.
They employed local workers specialising in 'certosina' (inlay of stained woods, bone and horn), and the workshop produced items carved in bone (usually horse or ox) with wood and bone marquetry. As well as altarpieces, the workshop also made caskets as bridal gifts to hold jewels or documents, and these were often decorated with scenes from mythology.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Parts | This object consists of 2 parts.
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| Titles |
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| Materials and techniques | Bone and intarsia on a carcase of silver fir |
| Brief description | Casket, bone and intarsia on a carcase of silver fir wood, scenes of the Fountain of Youth (Story of Susanna), North Italy (probably Venice), ca. 1420-1440 |
| Physical description | This marriage casket is of silver firwood, enriched with 'alla certosina' marquetry and covered with bone plaques. The plaques are representing the story of the Fountain of Youth, the biblical story of Susanna. The story as depicted shows, on the front, the two elders accosting the naked Susanna near the fountain; on the right short face, the elders accuse Susanna, who is held by guards, while the boy Daniel emerges beneath the trees in the background; on the back, Daniel examines the two elders' stories; on the final face, the elders (represented here as a single figure) are stoned to death. Extraneous plaques of no significance fill up the gaps on each of the faces. The lid is ornamented with flying amorini supporting hearts, against a background of leaves. |
| Dimensions |
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| Object history | Formerly in the Museum of the Collegio Romano, Rome; purchased from there in 1859 on behalf of the Museum by Henry Cole, while he was on tour in Italy. |
| Historical context | The casket is closest in style to an example in the collection of the late Archduke Franz Ferdinand (von Schlosser, Dr., fig. p, p. 242) |
| Production | From the Second Workshops of the Susanna caskets (as identified by Elena Merlini in 1988). |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Literary reference | Story of Susanna |
| Summary | This marriage casket, made in Italy, probably Venice in about 1420-1440 is of silver fir wood, enriched with 'alla certosina' marquetry and covered with bone plaque and depicts the Story of Susanna. Susanna was an appropriate exemplar of female virtue and chastity for a wedding gift such as this. However the narrative here is degenerated to the point where much of the story is very schematic or incoherent. Additionally the casket is executed rather unappealing and clumsily throughout. The derivative group of caskets to which the present example belongs may have been produced in the Embriachi workshop in the years before its definite dissolution in 1433, perhaps after the deaths of Baldassare Ubriachi and the head of the workshop Giovanni di Jacopo. If this is the case, then it illustrates the gradual decline of the workshop’s standards. It is also possible, however, that the group represents the output of local imitators, who used the workshop's Susanna caskets as models for their own productions. The Embriachi workshop was a north Italian family of entrepreneurs and carvers. The precise location of the workshop is unknown, except that it originated in Florence and in ca. 1431 there was apparently a workshop in Venice, in the area of S Luca. They employed local workers specialising in 'certosina' (inlay of stained woods, bone and horn), and the workshop produced items carved in bone (usually horse or ox) with wood and bone marquetry. As well as altarpieces, the workshop also made caskets as bridal gifts to hold jewels or documents, and these were often decorated with scenes from mythology. |
| Bibliographic references |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | 4718:2-1859 |
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| Record created | August 27, 2004 |
| Record URL |
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