Cassone
1550-1570 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This cassone (chest) and its pair (4417-1857, also in the V&A), were probably made to celebrate a marriage linking two wealthy families, whose arms are prominently displayed in the centre by naked putti. It is possible that it marked the marriage of Paolo Lancelloti and Giulia Delfini in Rome, in 1570.
Across the front of each cassone are four scenes carved in relief, relating to various episodes from Greek myth. On this cassone are depicted scenes from the story of the god Apollo and Daphne, a nymph with whom the god fell in love. When the unwilling girl could no longer flee from Apollo, she prayed to her father a river god, to save her whereupon she was changed into a laurel tree.
The classical myth, with its themes of love, and the lessons of imprudence and filial duty/parental responsibility, would have been seen as resonant and edifying for a married couple. On the female term figures that separate the scenes, lion masks are strategically placed below their waist, and a fierce mask forms the escutcheon around the keyhole. Both details suggest that a symbolic guard is being placed over the family valuables and reputations.
Across the front of each cassone are four scenes carved in relief, relating to various episodes from Greek myth. On this cassone are depicted scenes from the story of the god Apollo and Daphne, a nymph with whom the god fell in love. When the unwilling girl could no longer flee from Apollo, she prayed to her father a river god, to save her whereupon she was changed into a laurel tree.
The classical myth, with its themes of love, and the lessons of imprudence and filial duty/parental responsibility, would have been seen as resonant and edifying for a married couple. On the female term figures that separate the scenes, lion masks are strategically placed below their waist, and a fierce mask forms the escutcheon around the keyhole. Both details suggest that a symbolic guard is being placed over the family valuables and reputations.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Walnut, carved and gilded |
| Brief description | Walnut, carved and gilded with scenes of Apollo and Daphne, Rome c1570 |
| Physical description | Chest (cassone) with hinged lid and set on lion feet; the front and sides with high-relief carvings against gilded backgrounds, which depict scenes from the stories of Apollo and Phaeton, divided by caryatid term figures, centred on a coat of arms supported by two putti. The relief carving is partly gilded. Design Left side: youthful term figure bust with breastplate, set on a plinth with scrolling shoulder Panel with suspended trophy with cuirass, shields and halberd Naked female winged caryatid at the corner Panel with Apollo and Daphnae Naked female caryatid Panel with Apollo and Cupid Shield supported by two putti, above a mask Panel with Apollo and Daphnae turning into a laurel Naked female caryatid Panel with Phaeton and Apollo (as a statue) Naked female winged caryatid at the corner Right side Panel with suspended trophy with spears, drum, trumpet and a quiver of arrows Youthful term figure bust with breastplate, set on a plinth with scrolling shoulder All the term figures wear bead necklaces (painted) and hair ornament. The rear term figures are youthful busts wearing a breastplate, the head inclined towards the front of the cassone. The frieze has acanthus flanking palmette, above running beads (mostly missing). Under the chest front is a carved, scrolling apron with paired rosettes flanking a bud. Construction The various parts are nailed together, with ring hinges holding the lid to the back. The front of the cassone consists of a single deep (about 11cm) board (neatly excavated inside to form a shoulder), and a freize panel butting onto the single deep board. Integral to the deep board are the four relief panels, and the rearmost parts of the shield and supporters, and term figures, (the near shoulder of the end terms). The foremost parts of the term figures are built up with a top layer. The freize panel is carved in the solid with the heads of the term figures and a grotesque, foliate mask escutcheon The freize panel has been rebacked with a replacement section. Each end is formed by a single panel, below a separate freize. Integral to the main panel is the carved trophy (in low relief), the body of the rear term figure, and part of the body of the front term angel figure. Integral to the freize is the head of the rear term figure, the head of the front term figure. A bead moulding has been nailed (or glued) to the freize. The back consists of a deep board above a narrow one (probably glued rather than doweled together), both roughly finished on the outside. The lid consists of a rectangular frame of half-lapped construction, held on three ring hinges (apparently original). The frame is carved on the front and ends with a fluted fore-edge, and overlapping scale pattern. It is plain along the back. On the frame stands a canted, rectangular frame formed by thick, cyma mouldings (meeting in a mitred joint), carved with superimposed acanthus leaf, on three sides and at the top edge a double cyma leaf moulding. This angled frame contains a flat panel, in the centre of which is an applied roundel with a grotesque foliate mask. The bottom consists of a single board with moulded ends, nailed up into the sides, back and ends. Replacement parts: infill patch to back plank (PR end). Lid rebuilt. PL end consists of a large board over a narrow (where the other ends are made from a single piece) |
| Dimensions |
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| Gallery label | Cassone (Chest)
Chestnut , partly gilt
Italian (probably Roman); 1570
The four panels are as follows (left to right): Apollo meets Daphne; Apollo struck by Amor’s arrow; Daphne transformed into a bay-tree; the fall of Phaeton. The arms in the centre may be those of the Delfini family, and this cassone, together with its pair shown nearby, was probably made for the marriage of Paolo Lancellotti and Guilia Delfini in 1570.
(pre-2006) |
| Object history | Bought for £110 in Paris (No further information given in the early register). |
| Historical context | See also: Walnut cassone with scenes of Phaeton, (dims. 65 x 175 x 57cm), Minneapolis Institute of Art, gift of the F.W. Clifford family 59.8. Pair of walnut cassoni with arms of Rustici and Massimo , ill. in Goffredo Lizzani, Il Mobile Romano (1970), figs. 185-6, 189-90; described in GONZALEZ-PALACIOS, Alvar (editor), Fasto Romano - dipinti, sculture, arredi dai Palzzi di Roma. (Rome, Palazzo Sacchetti, 1991), no. 64, as by Tuscan craftsmen. Venetian c1550, carved walnut (Ecouen, Musee Nazionale de la Renaissance, Inv. 20402), illustrated in Patricia Fortini Brown, Private lives in Renaissance Venice : art, architecture, and the family, fig. 112 Berlin K.2465 (destroyed) |
| Summary | This cassone (chest) and its pair (4417-1857, also in the V&A), were probably made to celebrate a marriage linking two wealthy families, whose arms are prominently displayed in the centre by naked putti. It is possible that it marked the marriage of Paolo Lancelloti and Giulia Delfini in Rome, in 1570. Across the front of each cassone are four scenes carved in relief, relating to various episodes from Greek myth. On this cassone are depicted scenes from the story of the god Apollo and Daphne, a nymph with whom the god fell in love. When the unwilling girl could no longer flee from Apollo, she prayed to her father a river god, to save her whereupon she was changed into a laurel tree. The classical myth, with its themes of love, and the lessons of imprudence and filial duty/parental responsibility, would have been seen as resonant and edifying for a married couple. On the female term figures that separate the scenes, lion masks are strategically placed below their waist, and a fierce mask forms the escutcheon around the keyhole. Both details suggest that a symbolic guard is being placed over the family valuables and reputations. |
| Associated object | 4417-1857 (Ensemble) |
| Bibliographic references |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | 4416-1857 |
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| Record created | February 5, 2007 |
| Record URL |
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