Casket
- Place of origin:
Italy (north, made)
- Date:
early 15th century (made)
- Artist/Maker:
Workshop of Embriachi (school of, sculptor)
- Materials and Techniques:
Wood overlaid with bone plaques and alla certosina marquetry
- Museum number:
4719-1859
- Gallery location:
In store
This casket consists of a box and cover, with bone or ivory plaques. It is carved with groups of figures in costume of the 15th century. It is made by the school of the Workshop of the Embriachi, in Italy in the early 15th century.
The Embriachi workshop was a north Italian family of entrepreneurs and carvers. The precise location of the workshop is unknown, except that it originated in Florence and in ca. 1431 there was apparently a workshop in Venice, in the area of S Luca. They employed local workers specialising in 'certosina' (inlay of stained woods, bone and horn), and the workshop produced items carved in bone (usually horse or ox) with wood and bone marquetry. As well as altarpieces, the workshop also made caskets as bridal gifts to hold jewels or documents, and these were often decorated with scenes from mythology.
