Strong box

late 16th or early 17th century

Not on view

This formidable steel strongbox is reinforced with an armature of the same material. Its elaborate locking mechanism, consisting of nine bolts and various leaf-shaped shields, offered the owner a safe storage place for his valuables. Corresponding to the eyes along the rim of the lid, the two pendant hasps in front allowed the use of additional padlocks. Nuremberg and the neighboring town of Augsburg were major metal-producing centers where armorers, locksmiths, and founders made arms and armor as well as useful wares such as locks, caskets, and strongboxes.

Artwork Details

Overview

Provenance

Exhibition History

Title: Strong box
Date: late 16th or early 17th century
Culture: German, possibly Nuremberg
Medium: Steel
Dimensions: Overall (confirmed): 35 3/4 × 51 in., 768 lb. (90.8 × 129.5 cm, 348.4 kg)
Classification: Metalwork-Steel
Credit Line: Gift of Henry G. Marquand, 1890
Object Number: 90.13.1
Curatorial Department: European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

More Artwork

In the same medium

A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.

Chinese figure with bird, Meissen Manufactory German, Hard-paste porcelain with gilt-bronze mounts and soft-paste porcelain flowers, German, Meissen with French mounts and French, Vincennes flowers — Chinese figure with bird
Meissen Manufactory
George Fritzsche
ca. 1727, mounts and flowers ca. 1750

Padlock and key, André Omereler, Steel, partially gilded brass, Southern German — Padlock and key
André Omereler
1531

Automaton clock in the form of Urania, Muse of Astronomy, Paullus Schiller German, Case: partly gilded and partly silvered brass, copper with traces of silver, ebony, and ebony veneer; Movement: gilded brass and partly blued steel, German, Nuremberg — Automaton clock in the form of Urania, Muse of Astronomy
Paullus Schiller
ca. 1620–30

Jewelry box, P. Ben, Silver, engraved; brass, partially gilt, German, probably Nuremberg or Flemish — Jewelry box
P. Ben
1627

Cabinet (Fassadenschrank), Pine, oak, walnut; Hungarian ash, birch, various fruitwoods, walnut, palisander, other woods, partly stained (marquetry veneer); wrought iron,, German, Nuremberg — Cabinet (Fassadenschrank)
German, Nuremberg
early 17th century

Research Resources

The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.

Feedback

We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.