Cabinet frontal with panels from two Embriachi caskets

ca. 1400–1409

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 307

The scenes displayed are taken from Medieval romances and Classical mythology. Initially they were mounted upon two large chests used by the powerful ruling Lombard family, the Visconti, on their visits to the Certosa of Pavia. The stories represented include: the Golden Eagle (Il Pecorone) by Giovanni Forentino (1378); the tale of Mattabruna (an old French Romance); Jason and the Golden Fleece; the story of Pyramus and Thisbe; and the story of Hero and Leander. These chests were among the most ambitious works created by the bone and ivory carvers workshop, headed by the Florentine entrepreneur, Baldassare degli Embriachi.

Artwork Details

Overview

Catalogue Entry

Provenance

References

Title: Cabinet frontal with panels from two Embriachi caskets
Artist: Baldassare degli Embriachi (Italian, active 1390–1409) (Workshop)
Date: ca. 1400–1409
Geography: Made in Florence, Italy
Culture: Italian
Medium: Bone and Certosina (inlays of stained woods, bone and horn) with traces of gilding
Dimensions: Overall: 81 3/4 × 70 7/8 × 3 3/8 in. (207.7 × 180 × 8.5 cm)
Other ((a) central panel): 67 1/8 × 70 7/8 × 3 3/8 in. (170.5 × 180 × 8.5 cm)
Other ((b) pediment): 14 5/8 × 68 3/4 × 3 1/4 in. (37.2 × 174.6 × 8.2 cm)
Classification: Ivories-Bone
Credit Line: Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917
Object Number: 17.190.490a, b
Curatorial Department: Medieval Art and The Cloisters

More Artwork

By Baldassare degli Embriachi

In the same gallery

From the same time and place

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Altarpiece with the Lives of Jesus, Saint John the Baptist, and Saint John the Evangelist, Baldassare degli Embriachi Italian, Bone framed with intarsia and horn, traces of paint and gilding, North Italian — Altarpiece with the Lives of Jesus, Saint John the Baptist, and Saint John the Evangelist
Baldassare degli Embriachi
ca. 1390–1400

Hexagonal Casket, North Italian Workshop, Wood, bone, paint, gilding, iron, velvet, and metal-wrapped textile, North Italian — Hexagonal Casket
North Italian Workshop
early 15th century

Fragments of a Box representing the Quest for the Golden Fleece, Embriachi Workshop, Bone (in modern painted wood frame), North Italian — Fragments of a Box representing the Quest for the Golden Fleece
Embriachi Workshop
first third 15th century

Fragment of a Comb, Elephant ivory, Italian — Fragment of a Comb
Italian
ca. 1390–1400

Comb, Elephant ivory, European (Medieval style) — Comb
European (Medieval style)
19th century

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