Wood and gesso casket; Catalonia; ca. 1450

'Casket with slightly arched lid, of lime covered with moulded and punched gesso enriched with painting and gilding. It has an iron hasp and brass hinges and a drop handle. On the cover, front, back and sides are ladies and gentlemn amid leafy stems, arranged as follows: cover, a gentleman seated, and two ladies standinhg; front, a lady and gentleman standing; back, a lady standing; one side a ladu standing and on the other side a gentleman standing. The dresses, the borders and the pavements are enriched with ornament made by a circular punch cut with seven dots. The background is dotted.' - 1899 Registered Description.

Bought for £27 from Bardini Sale lot 310, 5-8th June 1899 at Messrs. Christie, Manson & Woods (RF 22865/1899); Bardini Catalogue pl. 14, no. 222

This item was bought for £27 in 1899 from the auction sale in London of goods belonging to Stefano Bardini, a leading dealer in Medieval and Renaissance artefacts, based in Florence.
'Casket with slightly arched lid, of lime covered with moulded and punched gesso enriched with painting and gilding. It has an iron hasp and brass hinges and a drop handle. On the cover, front, back and sides are ladies and gentlemn amid leafy stems, arranged as follows: cover, a gentleman seated, and two ladies standinhg; front, a lady and gentleman standing; back, a lady standing; one side a ladu standing and on the other side a gentleman standing. The dresses, the borders and the pavements are enriched with ornament made by a circular punch cut with seven dots. The background is dotted. Large portions of gesso missing from the back. Portion of the lock and of one hinge also missing. The lid is held on with a rough piece of leather.'

Comparable objects

Pastiglia casket with seated heraldic lions, 34 x 25 x 21cm, Spanish (Catalonia), 15th century; Sothebys Paris 25/11/2008 lot 42, sold £16,250 euros

Two caskets, attrib. Catalonia (probably Barcelona), MFM 1900 (1400-50) , MFM 1903 (c.1450)
Museu Frederic Marës, Barcelona; Catàleg del moble. Edat Mitjana, segles XIV-XV / Fons del Museu Frederic Marès / 6.1., nos.5 and 6

When acquired in 1899, this item was thought to be Italian but it is now thought to have come from Catalonia in Spain. A number of similar boxes are decorated with characteristically thickly moulded gesso and a punch-mark pattern in the background and they depict jousts, courtly love themes and Medieval Romances, subjects that were popular throughout Europe as well as Christian Spain.

Although bought in 1899 from Stefano Bardini, one of Italy's leading antique dealers of his day, and then thought to be Italian, this gesso-decorated box almost certainly came from Catalonia (Spain) and was made in about 1450. A number of similar boxes were decorated with characteristically bulbous figures and motifs in moulded gesso, with punch marks in the background, and often painted vermillion and partly gilded. As in Italy, courtly love stories taken from Medieval Romances were popular themes in Catalonia and thought suitable presents for lovers.

483-1899