Physical description
At left, a queen sits enthroned on a triumphal chariot drawn by two white horses towards a city gate; at right, she sits enthroned with an elegantly dressed young man on a raised podium sheltered by a baldachin; throngs of beautiful young men and women surround the structure, behind them are several 'all'antica' (ancient style) Renaissance buildings
Place of Origin
Siena (town), Italy (made)
Date
1469-1475 (made)
Artist/maker
Francesco di Giorgio, born 1439 - died 1501 (workshop of, painter)
Landi, Neroccio de', born 1447 - died 1500 (workshop of, painter)
Materials and Techniques
Carved and gilded gesso on wood, painted in tempera
Dimensions
Height: 39 in, Width: 75 in, Depth: 26 in
Object history note
Given as a wedding present in 1871 to H.R.H. Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll (1848-1939) and presented by her to the Museum in 1925.
Historical significance: Francesco di Giorgio Martini (bapt 1439-1501) was a Sienese architect, engineer, painter, illuminator, sculptor, medallist, theorist and writer. His activities as a diplomat led to his employment at the courts of Naples, Milan and Urbino, as well as in Siena, and was among the leading architects in Italy. His theoretical works, which include the first important Western writings on military engineering, were not published until modern times but were keenly studied in manuscript, by Leonardo da Vinci among others. Francesco di Giorgio is generally thought to have studied with the painter and sculptor il Vecchietta. He and members of his workshop produced numerous cassoni (e.g. Florence, Mus. Stibbert; New York, Met.) from the end of the 1460s which reveal Francesco’s interest in narrative and taste for the classically inspired representation of architecture and cities. He worked closely with Neroccio de’ Landi from around 1469 until 1474. This cassone appears to have been painted using designs by the master in his workshop during his period of collaboration with Neroccio. It can be compared for example with two similar cassoni also containing triumphal chariots at the Museo Stibbert, Florence.
This work was previously described as representing Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. However, the youthful uncrowned youth who sits with the queen is not convincingly identified with King Solomon who is generally represented as older, bearded and crowned. The scene may tentatively be identified as representing Dido, the founder and first Queen of Carthage and her love, the Trojan hero Aeneas. The scene on the left may illustrate Dido's procession to the Temple of Juno and at right, the meeting of Aeneas and Dido and an allusion to the subsequent Banquet with the Trojans, all recounted in Book I of Virgil's Aeneid:
‘while in amazement he [Aeneas] hangs rapt in one fixed gaze, the queen, Dido, moved toward the temple, of surpassing beauty, with a vast company of youths thronging round her. Even as on Eurotas’ banks or along the heights of Cythus Diana guides her dancing bands, in whose train a thousand Oreads troop to right and left; she bears a quiver on her shoulder, and as she treads overtops all the goddesses; joys thrill Latona’s silent breast – such was Dido, so moved she joyously through their midst, pressing on the work of her rising kingdom. Then at the door of the goddess, beneath the temple’s central dome, girt witharms and high enthroned, she took her seat. Laws and ordinances she gave to her people; their tasks she adjusted in equal shares or assigned by lot…’
(Aeneid 1:494ff)
While some details of the text do not appear in the painting and vice versa, the niche carved out of the stairs in the platform in the second scene appears to hold several books and a lamp (?) to which the Queen gestures with her sceptre –possibly a reference to Virgil's 'laws and ordinances.' Further, the attention to architecture may also allude to Dido’s role as the ‘builder’ of Carthage. The subject remains however a subject of debate and is described more generally as 'A Triumph of Love' as suggested by the triumphal chariot at left and 'Two Lovers.'
Historical context note
'Cassone' is the Italian term generally used for large, lavishly decorated chests such as this made in Italy from the 14th through the 16th centuries. Wealthy households needed many chests, but the ornate cassoni, (pl.) painted and often combined with pastiglia decoration, were usually commissioned in pairs when a house was renovated for a newly married couple and were ordered, together with other furnishings, by the groom. Florence was the main centre of production, though cassoni were also produced in Siena and occasionally in the Veneto and elsewhere. Cassoni were generally decorated with colourful paintings on three sides and, sometimes, the underside of the lid. The bride used the chests to store her trousseau; items of linen, underclothes, purses, combs, belts, towels, and devotional books. Until about 1460, it was customary, particularly in Florence, to parade these chests through public streets, after this time however, strict sumptuary laws encouraged families to restrict their wedding celebrations to palace courtyards or loggias. The depiction of triumphal processions in the later half of the fifteenth century may be imaginative re-creations of abandoned practices and traditions.
By the 19th century, many wedding chests had been dismantled and sold to tourists, especially British and Americans who developed a particular fondness for Florentine art.
Descriptive line
Cassone, The Triumph of Love and Two Lovers, workshop of Francesco di Giorgio and Neroccio de' Landi, Siena, 1469-1475
Bibliographic References (Citation, Note/Abstract, NAL no)
Ellen Callman, Apollonio di Giovanni. (Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1974), p.26, n.10.
Listed under "Chests that have survived substantially in their original form"
C. M. Kauffmann, Catalogue of Foreign Paintings before 1800, London, 1973, cat. no. 127, pp. 114-115.
The following is the full text of the entry:
Workshop of FRANCESCO di Giorgio and Neroccio di Bartolommeo Landi
127
CASSONE, PAINTED WITH:
front: SOLOMON AND THE QUEEN OF SHEBA;
side: TWO COATS OF ARMS
Tempera
H. 39 (99);
W. 75 (190'5); D. 26
(66)
The lid and base of the cassone are late reconstructions.
W.68-1925 (F. & w.)
This cassone was published by Borenius in 1926 as by, or 'gravitating round', Francesco di Giorgio. It is related, not only in style but also in architectural form, to the cassoni attributed to Francesco. The figures in gilt stucco bas relief on each side of the front panel are paralleled, for example, in the Tobias cassone in the William Rockhill Nelson Gallery, Kansas (Weller, 1943, figs. 38,42).
It is known that Francesco had a joint workshop, whose products included cassoni, with Neroccio from about 1469 or slightly earlier until 1475, when the partnership was dissolved, followed shortly by Francesco's departure for Urbino. It is possible, therefore, to date these cassoni fairly precisely, c. 1469-75, but it is less easy to decide to what extent they are by Francesco himself and how far the execution was left to assistants. A. S. Weller claimed that only four were autograph and most of the othersincluding w.68-1925 - were products of the Francesco-Neroccio workshop. Although we know nothing of the number of assistants Francesco employed, it seems reasonable to accept Weller's verdict on this panel, which is not, in quality, up to the standard of Francesco's undoubted paintings.
The coats of arms painted on the side panels were described as follows:
Left: Sable, an eagle displayed gules (colours no longer distinguishable); Right: Gules, lion rampant sable.
These arms, but with different colours (or, a lion sable; sable, an eagle or (?)) are repeated on the front. Their identification is rendered difficult by the confusion in the colours. A search covering both alternatives has proved fruitless.
Weller objected to the identification of the scene, 'as the gentleman enthroned with the queen is youthful and uncrowned, thus failing to be Solomon.' But he was unable to suggest an alternative and, as most of the features fit well with the tradition of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba illustrations and in view of the fact that this was a popular subject in cassone painting, it does not seem justifiable to dispute this identification.
On the back there is a monochrome brush drawing of a reclining woman.
Painted directly on to the wood, it is crude but vigorous in execution. It has been attributed to the Francesco di Giorgio workshop by Philip Pouncey (letter in Museum file) and was probably done for the artist's own amusement.
Condition. Painted surface considerably worn. Cleaned by S. Iseppin 1950.
Prov. Given as a wedding present in 1871 to H.R.H. Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll (1848-1939) and presented by her to the Museum in 1925.
Lit. T. Borenius in Apollo, iii, 1926, p. 132, repr.; Weller, op. cit., 1943, p. 127 n. 108, p. 298.
T. Borenius in Apollo, iii, 1926, p. 132, repr.
Allen Stuart Weller, Francesco di Giorgio, 1439-1501 Chicago, Ill., The University of Chicago press, 1943, p. 127 n. 108, p. 298.
Burton B. Fredericksen, The Cassone Paintings of Francesco di Giorgio. J Paul Getty Museum, publication no. 4, 1969. Illus. fig. 14, 15, 16
Cristelle Baskins, Adrian W.B. Randolph, Jacqueline Marie Musacchio and Alan Chong. The triumph of marriage : painted cassoni of the Renaissance. Boston : Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum ; Sarasota : John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art ; [Pittsburgh] : With Gutenberg Periscope Publishing Limited, c2008.
For general reference only.
Labels and date
MARRIAGE CHEST (CASSONE) with the Meeting of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba
1450-1500
Workshop of Francesco di Giorgio Martini (1439-1501/2)
The Old Testament describes a visit by the Queen of Sheba to Solomon, King of Israel. She arrived in a great procession bearing extravagant gifts, and in return he gave her 'all she desired, whatever she asked'. The meeting of the wisest man in Asia and the richest woman of the South was a popular subject for a cassone.
Italy, Siena
Carved and gilded gesso on wood, painted in tempera; the lid and feet of later date
Museum no. W.68-1925
Given by the HRH Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll [2008]
Production Note
Attributed to Francesco di Giorgio or someone from his workshop; formerly described as Solomon and the Queen of Sheba which is untenable; the more general title 'Triumph of Love and Two Lovers' proposed by Professor Benjamin David (2010)
Materials
Gold leaf; Tempera; Gesso
Techniques
Painting; Gilding; Joinery; Sculpture
Subjects depicted
Horses (animals); Queens (people); Chariots (ancient vehicles)
Categories
Furniture; Woodwork
Collection code
FWK
