Casket
ca. 1390-1420 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This octagonal casket is made in North Italy (Florence) in about 1390-1420. The sides of the casket are decorated with representations of the Virtues.
It is almost certain that the casket is a modern confection, made using real fragments of Embriachi work set onto a new carcase. The Virtues, although common on Embriachi caskets, always appear on the lids; this is the only known example where they form the main decoration for the side. So the Virtues probably come from the lid of an octagonal casket, which may also have incorporated the winged amorini.
Most octagonal Embriachi caskets with the Virtues depict the three Theological Virtues along the four Cardinal Virtues, and fill the final face with a heraldic shield. In this case, however, an extra personification has been added, holding a globe-like object.
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.
It is almost certain that the casket is a modern confection, made using real fragments of Embriachi work set onto a new carcase. The Virtues, although common on Embriachi caskets, always appear on the lids; this is the only known example where they form the main decoration for the side. So the Virtues probably come from the lid of an octagonal casket, which may also have incorporated the winged amorini.
Most octagonal Embriachi caskets with the Virtues depict the three Theological Virtues along the four Cardinal Virtues, and fill the final face with a heraldic shield. In this case, however, an extra personification has been added, holding a globe-like object.
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.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Bone, horn and intarsia on a core of poplar. |
| Brief description | Casket, bone, horn and intarsia on a core of poplar, ocatagonal with Virtues, North Italy (Florence), ca. 1390-1420 with late nineteenth-century alterations; carcase late nineteenth-century |
| Physical description | This octagonal casket is of very unusual form. The sides are covered with bone veneer stained green. On each face, a square frame is formed from applied geometrical intarsia in alternating patterns of a running ribbon and interlocking six-pointed stars. The latter is formed from two thin strips of intarsia placed next to each other. Within these frames are bone quatrefoils made of three sections, each with a carved Virtue in the centre. The lid is almost flat with a single step, with a band of naked winged amorini against a background of rose leaves, holding hearts, pointing and grasping at one another. On the side facing the lock, two of the angels support each an escutcheon. The casket is raised on small bone feet set at each angle. Starting at the lock hole (the front), and reading from left to right, the Virtues depicted are: Faith, Charity, Hope, Prudence, Temperance, Justice, Strength and a female figure holding a rod with a large globe or ball on it, with a band across the centre. In the centre of the lid is an inlaid star pattern. |
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| Marks and inscriptions |
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| Object history | Bought in Florence in 1903 from the dealer Emilio Costantini by Frederick Anthony White, Queen's Gate, London. In the collection of Hildburgh, in 1934, when it was placed on loan to the Museum. Given by Dr. W. L. Hildburgh, F. S. A., 1952. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | This octagonal casket is made in North Italy (Florence) in about 1390-1420. The sides of the casket are decorated with representations of the Virtues. It is almost certain that the casket is a modern confection, made using real fragments of Embriachi work set onto a new carcase. The Virtues, although common on Embriachi caskets, always appear on the lids; this is the only known example where they form the main decoration for the side. So the Virtues probably come from the lid of an octagonal casket, which may also have incorporated the winged amorini. Most octagonal Embriachi caskets with the Virtues depict the three Theological Virtues along the four Cardinal Virtues, and fill the final face with a heraldic shield. In this case, however, an extra personification has been added, holding a globe-like object. 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. |
| Bibliographic references |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | A.26-1952 |
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| Record created | June 24, 2009 |
| Record URL |
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