Although the figures on this box are similar to those on boxes decorated with white lead paste (or pastiglia), they are in fact made of gesso sottile, a very fine form of plaster of Paris. The box is decorated with the Roman gods and goddesses that represent the various planets, such as Jupiter, Saturn, Mercury and Venus, as well as Diana, the goddess of the moon. This astrological theme, popular in Europe throughout the Middle Ages and Renaissance, is enhanced by the inclusion of the signs of the Zodiac in the decoration of the wheels of the chariots.
Physical description
Rectangular box with deep plinth-shaped lid, made up of concave sides and a ring fitted on the top. The outside of the box is covered with moulded gesso motifs on a painted and gilded ground. The inside is painted red. All four sides of the box are decorated with a Roman God, personifying a planet, pulled in a car, placed between two panels decorated with symmetrically aranged acanthus scrolls and flowers. The acanthus panels are repeated on the corners of the lid, the front and back of which are decorated with deities and the sides with the (unidentified) coat of arms of the owner. On the front of the box is Luna (the moon) riding in a car pulled by two maidens, with one wheel decorated with Leo and the other with Cancer; on the back is Mercury, whose car rests on one wheel decorated with Virgo and the other with Gemini, and is pulled by two phoenixes; on the left side is Venus riding in a car, with Cupid standing in front of her, pulled by two doves. One wheel is emblazoned with Taurus and the other with Libra. On the right side is Mars in a car, with one wheel decorated with Aries and the other with Scorpio, pulled by two horses. On the front if the lid, Saturn, bearing the Scythe of Time, rides in a car pulled by two cranes: one wheel is decorated with Capricorn and the other with Aquarius. On the back, Jupiter rides in a car pulled by two doves, with Ganymede kneeling and presenting him with a cup. On one wheel of his car is Sagittarius and on the other Pisces.
Note - the box is of nailed construction, with applied, mitred mouldings around the lid. It appears that a lock has been removed and the hole filled on the front of the box, and within, before interior paint was applied (though this lock may not have been original).
Place of Origin
Italy (made)
Date
ca. 1500 (made)
Artist/maker
Unknown
Materials and Techniques
Moulded gesso on a painted and gilded background
Dimensions
Height: 23.3 cm
Width: 24.2 cm
Depth: 18.5 cm
Measured for the Medieval and Renaissance Galleries
Object history note
This box was part of the collections of Dr. W.D.Hildburgh, FSA, (1876 - 1956) a distinguished scholar and benefactor to the V & A, and given to this museum with a number of pastiglia decorated boxes by the owner in 1953. It is not known where he acquired them from.
Historical context note
Pasta di Muschio (lit: scented paste) decoration on wooden boxes and frames was known in Ferrara by the 1450s, and this has been identified with the white lead decoration applied to wooden boxes with gilt grounds, that were being made in Venice and Ferrara from the mid to late 15th century. Although the moulded figures are made from gesso rather than lead, nonetheless the decoration is similar, and relies heavily on classical ornaments and subject matter. Like almost all surviving boxes of this type, the box was not fitted with a lock and would have contained odds and ends rather than valuable items.
The Seven Planets, which decorate this box, are derrived from a series of engravings that originated in Florence from about 1450 and spread throughout Italy during the latter half of that century. Perhaps the closest parallels lie between the Jupiter on the lid of the casket and a Jupiter in a woodcut formerly in the Malaspina collection (Pavia), thought to have been executed in Venice. (cf. Lippmann, p. 4 - 5). Themes connected with the signs of the Zodiac had been popular throughout the Middle Ages and Renaissance: frescoes of such themes, which date from the early 15th century, adorn the Sala della Ragione in the Palazzo della Ragione in Padua. By the end of the fifteenth century, classical deities, whether illustrated as planets or mythical figures, were popular decorative subjects.
Descriptive line
Rectangular box with deep plinth-shaped lid.
Bibliographic References (Citation, Note/Abstract, NAL no)
W.L.Hildburgh: 'On some Italian Renaissance Caskets with Pastiglia Decoration' The Antiquaries Journal, XXVI (1946), pp. 123 - 127.
Patrick M. de Winter: 'A little-known creation of Renaissance decorative arts: the white lead pastiglia box', Saggi e Memorie di Storia dell' Artr 14 (1984), pp. 9 - 131.
F.Lippmann: The Seven Planets (tr. Florence Simmonds), International Chalcography Society (London, Berlin, Paris, New York, 1895), pp. 4 - 5.
Shape
rectangular box with plinth-like lid
Materials
Paint; Gold leaf; Alder; Gesso sottile
Techniques
Gilding; Painting; Moulding; Joinery
Subjects depicted
Venus; Mercury; Jupiter; Mars; Ganymede; Sagittarius; Libra symbol; Cancer symbol; Scorpio symbol; Pisces symbol; Taurus symbol; Leo symbol; Virgo symbol; Gemini symbol; Luna
Categories
Containers; Myths & Legends
Production Type and Product Note
Unique
Collection code
FWK
