Box
1400-1450 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Box, carved on four sides and the lid with gothic letters and motif on a ground of quatrefoil leaf, within raised, moulded borders. The lid with a wreath of roses surrounding a carved 'F', with the initials F.V. and V.F.
rig (front), rud (rhs), uvriru (back), sm (lhs)
Of boarded construction (each panel consists of a single board), the front and back cut with a rebate to receive the end boards. The bottom (beech?) is nailed up into the sides, front and back of the box. Lid is rebated all round to ensure a snug fit, but has warped and shrunk across the grain. The lid is held on two internal, iron strap hinges held by hand-made nails, and the box is fitted with an external lockplate, with a corresponding hasp nailed to the underside of the lid.
With iron hinges, lock and hasp held on hand-made nails.
The bottom possibly replaced. No obvious evidence of a lining.
rig (front), rud (rhs), uvriru (back), sm (lhs)
Of boarded construction (each panel consists of a single board), the front and back cut with a rebate to receive the end boards. The bottom (beech?) is nailed up into the sides, front and back of the box. Lid is rebated all round to ensure a snug fit, but has warped and shrunk across the grain. The lid is held on two internal, iron strap hinges held by hand-made nails, and the box is fitted with an external lockplate, with a corresponding hasp nailed to the underside of the lid.
With iron hinges, lock and hasp held on hand-made nails.
The bottom possibly replaced. No obvious evidence of a lining.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Wood (box and beech?), carved |
| Brief description | Germany (Upper Rhine) 1400-1500 |
| Physical description | Box, carved on four sides and the lid with gothic letters and motif on a ground of quatrefoil leaf, within raised, moulded borders. The lid with a wreath of roses surrounding a carved 'F', with the initials F.V. and V.F. rig (front), rud (rhs), uvriru (back), sm (lhs) Of boarded construction (each panel consists of a single board), the front and back cut with a rebate to receive the end boards. The bottom (beech?) is nailed up into the sides, front and back of the box. Lid is rebated all round to ensure a snug fit, but has warped and shrunk across the grain. The lid is held on two internal, iron strap hinges held by hand-made nails, and the box is fitted with an external lockplate, with a corresponding hasp nailed to the underside of the lid. With iron hinges, lock and hasp held on hand-made nails. The bottom possibly replaced. No obvious evidence of a lining. |
| Dimensions |
|
| Object history | Bought from the Bernal collection for £6 5s |
| Historical context | For a similar box (private collection, attributed Upper Rhine 14-15th century, as a betrothal box) see, Tra/E: Teche, pissidi, cofani e forzieri dall'Alto Medioevo al Barocco, exhibition catalogue, curated by Pietro Lorenzelli and Alberto Veca (Galleria Lorenzelli, Bergamo Oct-Dec 1984 and Antiquaria, London March-April 1985), fig. 205 The distinctive carved quatrefoil ground on this box is found on caskets attributed by Heinrich von Kohlhaussen, (Minnekästen im Mittelalter (Berlin, 1928)) to Upper Rhine (Alsace, c1400-1450), eg. nos. 53, 54, 55, 57 (in poplar, beech, boxwood). It seems likely that it would have been given on the occasion of a betrothal, from a man to a woman, to contain love gifts. |
| Production | Possibly Alsace (Upper Rhine) |
| Association | |
| Bibliographic reference | Ancient and Modern Furniture & Woodwork in the South Kensington Museum, described with an introduction by John Hungerford Pollen, (London, 1874), p.14.
"Box. Carved wood; on the lid a wreath of roses, surrounding a crowned F., with initials F. V. and V. F. Flemish. 15th century.
H. 3 1/2 in., L. 7 1/2 in., W. 5 in. Bought (Bernal Collwction), 6 l. 5 s." |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 2181-1855 |
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| Record created | July 8, 2008 |
| Record URL |
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