The Dyneley Casket
Casket
1600 - 1610 (made)
1600 - 1610 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Object Type
Luxurious personal items made from precious metals and hardstones were used to show taste and social status.
History & Design
Alabaster was highly prized and often transformed into spectacular objects by the addition of gold or silver-gilt mounts. (The same mounts are found on a mother-of-pearl bowl also in the Museum's collection.) The taste for these small, precious objects lasted throughout the 16th century and into the early 17th century.
Material & Making
Ancient alabaster is a hard, carbonate mineral, often called 'oriental' alabaster as it was said to have come from the town of Alabastron, in Egypt. This example is made from 'modern' alabaster, a soft, finely-grained variety of gypsum, or limestone. It probably originated in the large deposits found in Britain, in the Midlands, which were extensively worked from the 14th century. The soft material is easy to carve and can be highly polished.
Luxurious personal items made from precious metals and hardstones were used to show taste and social status.
History & Design
Alabaster was highly prized and often transformed into spectacular objects by the addition of gold or silver-gilt mounts. (The same mounts are found on a mother-of-pearl bowl also in the Museum's collection.) The taste for these small, precious objects lasted throughout the 16th century and into the early 17th century.
Material & Making
Ancient alabaster is a hard, carbonate mineral, often called 'oriental' alabaster as it was said to have come from the town of Alabastron, in Egypt. This example is made from 'modern' alabaster, a soft, finely-grained variety of gypsum, or limestone. It probably originated in the large deposits found in Britain, in the Midlands, which were extensively worked from the 14th century. The soft material is easy to carve and can be highly polished.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Parts | This object consists of 10 parts.
|
| Title | The Dyneley Casket |
| Materials and techniques | Alabaster, mounted in stamped silver gilt, lined with silk |
| Brief description | The Dyneley Casket |
| Dimensions |
|
| Marks and inscriptions | maker's mark a trefoil slipped in a shaped shield struck inside the foot-ring |
| Gallery label | British Galleries:
This casket may have held medicines and perfumes in small containers. Carved English alabaster had long been associated with high status. It was smooth and fine-grained and had been used for luxury objects of all sizes since Medieval times.(27/03/2003) |
| Object history | Owned by the Dyneley family of Bramhope Manor, West Yorkshire. |
| Summary | Object Type Luxurious personal items made from precious metals and hardstones were used to show taste and social status. History & Design Alabaster was highly prized and often transformed into spectacular objects by the addition of gold or silver-gilt mounts. (The same mounts are found on a mother-of-pearl bowl also in the Museum's collection.) The taste for these small, precious objects lasted throughout the 16th century and into the early 17th century. Material & Making Ancient alabaster is a hard, carbonate mineral, often called 'oriental' alabaster as it was said to have come from the town of Alabastron, in Egypt. This example is made from 'modern' alabaster, a soft, finely-grained variety of gypsum, or limestone. It probably originated in the large deposits found in Britain, in the Midlands, which were extensively worked from the 14th century. The soft material is easy to carve and can be highly polished. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 24-1865 |
About this object record
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| Record created | April 28, 1999 |
| Record URL |
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