Jewelry casket

1857

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 556

Pietro Giusti, one of the most successful nineteenth-century designers and sculptors in Tuscany, was known for his elaborately carved frames and furniture in sixteenth-century styles. Here, Giusti may have been inspired by the work of the Renaissance artist Antonio Barili (1453–1516); Guisti was probably familiar with Barili’s cassone surmounted by the she-wolf with Romulus and Remus and with fabled monsters at the four corners in the Museo Civico, Siena. The city is traditionally thought to have been founded by the Romans, hence the use of the she-wolf on its seal and many of its civic buildings.

Artwork Details

Object Information

Overview

Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings

Provenance

Exhibition History

Title: Jewelry casket
Maker: Pietro Giusti (Italian, 1822–1878)
Date: 1857
Culture: Italian, Siena
Medium: Carved walnut, ebony, lined with red velvet
Dimensions: 11 x 15 x 10-1/4 in. (27.9 x 38.1 x 26.0 cm)
Classification: Woodwork-Furniture
Credit Line: Purchase, Gift of John D. Rockefeller, by exchange, and Rogers Fund, 1998
Object Number: 1998.19
Curatorial Department: European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

More Artwork

In the same gallery

In the same medium

From the same time and place

Baton, Wood, Italian, Tuscany — Baton
Italian, Tuscany
18th century

Wig cabinet (cabinet de coiffure), Johann Daniel Sommer II German, Oak and walnut veneered with ebony, ebonized wood, and marquetry of pewter, mother of pearl, and tortoiseshell colored red on the reverse; silver; brocaded damask (not original), German, Künzelzau — Wig cabinet (cabinet de coiffure)
Johann Daniel Sommer II
ca. 1685

Monumental vase, Georges Hoentschel French, Glazed stoneware, French, Saint-Amand-en-Puisaye — Monumental vase
Designer Georges Hoentschel
Possibly executed by Emile Grittel
1899–1900

Jug, Earthenware, tin-glaze (Majolica), European — Jug
European
19th–early 20th century (early 15th century)

Mechanical casket, Heinrich Gambs, Burr-maple, ebony and ebonized fruitwood, mahogany, birch, gold-colored silk and green baize, Russian, St. Petersburg — Mechanical casket
Heinrich Gambs
1800–1810

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 contact us using the form below. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.

Send feedback

Content Notice

The Metropolitan Museum of Art presents over 5,000 years of art from around the world, and our online collection reflects ongoing work conducted over the course of our more than 150-year history. You may encounter objects or images that may be inappropriate for some viewers or information that may be outdated.