Northern Italian Cypress Penwork Box

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Northern Italian Cypress Penwork Box

About the Item

A 16th century Italian cypress wood joined tabletop chest. The interior was 'grain painted' in the 19th century. Overall rich warm patina from years of waxing and handling. Measures: 8 in H x 19.75 in W x 8 in D 20 cm x H 50 cm x W 20 cm D The technique of flat, incised decoration with a cut away, punched background, known as intaglio carving (from the Italian ‘cut in’), is a feature of northern Italian and Alpine woodwork from circa 1300. Cypress wood chests of various sizes like this one with inked scenes over intaglio carving have traditionally been associated with the Adige region of NE Italy but actually seem to have been made more widely across northern Italy from circa 1500-1620. Cypress wood (like cedar to which it is very similar), is relatively soft and easy to carve, but has an attractive color and scent. The distinctive intaglio surface designs were worked using very small chisels, square punches and ink, presumably applied with a metal nib. Darkening of the wood over time, and fading of the inks mean that the outside decoration is often hard to read, while the unfaded insides have remained much more vivid. Chests of this class were exported to destinations all-over Europe and are frequently mentioned in English inventories of the 16th and early 17th century. Chests and boxes made of cypress or cedar were useful particularly for storing valuable and fragile textiles. In 1666, John Evelyn mentioned the use of cypress for chests as 'resisting the Worm, Moth, and all putrefaction to eternity'. The 'cypress chests' containing 'arras, counterpoints, costly apparel, tents, and canopies, fine linen, Turkey cushions, pewter and brass and all things that belong to house of house-keeping' are mentioned in Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew. One such cypress chest, filled with bed-hangings, was listed in the 1626 Inventory of Cockesden (P. Thornton, Furniture History, 1971, p. 68). A group of related chests, surviving in English churches, are discussed by Charles Tracy, Continental Church Furniture in England, Woodbridge, 2001, pp. 142-157. Examples are in the collections of the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Dimensions:
Height: 8 in (20.32 cm)Width: 19.75 in (50.17 cm)Depth: 8 in (20.32 cm)
Period:
16th Century
Date of Manufacture:
Late 16th Century
Condition:
Wear consistent with age and use. Minor losses. Overall very good antique condition, the original ink decoration worn off. The interior 'grain painted' at a later date. Retains original 'cotter pin' hinges. Old candle burns to the top add character.
Seller Location:
Stamford, CT
Reference Number:
1stDibs: LU80307029383