




Marco del Buono Giamberti (Italian, Florentine, 1402–1489); Apollonio di Giovanni di Tomaso (Italian, Florentine, 1415/17–1465)
Tempera, gold, and silver on wood
9 1/2 x 77 x 32 7/8 in. (100.3 x 195.6 x 83.5 cm)
Inscriptions: GO[N]STANTINOPOLI; S FRA[N]CES/CO; S. SOFIA; DEILO.PER . . . ORI; PERA; LOSTRETTO; LOSCUTARIO; CHASTEL NVOVO; TREBIZOND[A]; TAN[B]VRLANA
John Stewart Kennedy Fund, 1914 (14.39)
This cassone was probably made to celebrate a marriage in the Strozzi family, as it is decorated with family emblems on the sides. The scene on the front is thought to portray the conquest of Trebizond. However, two other surfaces of the cassone are decorated with painted imitations of the textile designs. The exchange of expensive luxury fabrics and jewels was an important component of wedding preparations during the Renaissance. The inside of the lid and the back panel, seen here, are both painted to look like the magnificent "pomegranate"-style velvets, with two heights of silk pile and metal-thread brocading. These painted surfaces refer to the valuable contents that would have been stored in such a chest.







