Casket (cofanetto or scrigno)

1575–1600

Not on view

Richly decorated with shimmering tablets of painted mother-of-pearl and gilded ivory, this casket incorporates gouaches showing mythological themes that celebrate female beauty. These depictions, combined with the fact that the lid originally enclosed a mirror, indicate that this cofanetto held toilet articles. The exterior framework is painted alla dasmaschina, showing decorative patterns resembling those used to embellish Saracenic steel.

[Daniëlle Kisluk-Grosheide, 2010]

Artwork Details

Object Information

Overview

Provenance

Exhibition History

Title: Casket (cofanetto or scrigno)
Date: 1575–1600
Culture: Italian, Venice
Medium: Beechwood, ebony, painted and decorated with incrustation of mother-of-pearl, ivory with gilding; miniatures: gouache on parchment; lined with later fabric
Dimensions: 7 7/8 × 15 5/8 in. (20 × 39.7 cm)
Classification: Woodwork-Furniture
Credit Line: Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917
Object Number: 17.190.848
Curatorial Department: European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

More Artwork

In the same medium

From the same time and place

Virginal, Wood, parchment, ivory, paint, Italian — Virginal
Italian
1540

Collector's Cabinet, Iacopo Fiamengo Italian, Ebony, African blackwood, ebonized wood; ivory (engraved and carved) and bone; case: coniferous wood; drawers: beech, coniferous wood, walnut; knobs, lock, hinges: gilt iron with modern bronze paint <br/><br/>Primary woods and materials: ebony, African blackwood, ebonized wood (veneer applied to the back); ivory (engraved and carved); bone (stringing)<br/>Drawer knobs, lock, hinges: gilt iron with modern bronze paint <br/>Secondary woods: <br/>Case: coniferous wood <br/>Drawers: beech, coniferous wood, walnut; stained poplar and coniferous wood used for modern casings of locks, Italian, Naples — Collector's Cabinet
Multiple artists/makers
ca. 1595–1600

Hypnerotomachia Poliphili, Francesco Colonna Italian, Printed book with woodcut illustrations — Hypnerotomachia Poliphili
Multiple artists/makers
December 1499

Settee, Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema British, born The Netherlands, Ebony, box and sandalwood, cedar, ivory inlay, incrustations of mother-of-pearl and brass, British, London — Settee
Designer Designed by Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema
Manufacturer Johnstone Norman & Co., London
ca. 1885

Falchion, Steel, gold, textile, Italian, Venice — Falchion
Italian, Venice
ca. 1490

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