The casket is a product of the Embriachi workshop, a famous ivory-carving family who originated in Florence but had a workshop in Venice by the 1430s. There they were able to employ 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 in this example.

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. This example is decorated with scenes from the legend of Jason. This ancient Greek tale tells how, to win the throne of his native Iolcus, Jason led the Argonauts on a voyage to capture the Golden Fleece from Aeetes, king of Colchis. The narrative starts on the front of the casket, with the events leading up to the exile of the young Jason from Iolcus. It continues around all four sides, detailing his flight by boat and his eventual arrival at Colchis, where Aeetes refused to give up the fleece until Jason performed a set of tasks. First, as shown, he had to yoke two fire-breathing bulls to a plow and plow the field of Ares. Then he had to sow the field with dragon’s teeth, from which armed men sprang up. Jason overcame all these obstacles to claim the Golden Fleece, which is shown in the top corner of the final scene of the casket.

The carving of this casket is especially fine. The arrangement of the scenes means that the front of the casket concentrates on the preamble to the story amnd his dealings with Medea, while the rear face of the casket is given over to chivalric deeds, as the armoured Jason is shown overcoming obstacle after obstacle. If, as seems likely, the casket was intended as a nuptial gift, then the front may be characterized as dealing with the powqer and scope of the woman, while the back celebrates masculine virtue.