Renaissance Decorative Boxes

This exceptional 15th-century Venetian painted casket is a rare example of early decorative art from the late Medieval to early Renaissance period in the Republic of Venice, Italy. H...

A beautiful bronze box, decorated in renaissance style with putti and decorative ornaments. The box is in good condition, key is missing. Beautiful colour and patina. Dimensions: ...

English Renaissance (Dated 1652) oak slant front bible box

In the past, this type of large toilet service would have been an essential luxury for an elite woman. They were used to store makeup, perfume, pins, ribbons and anything else a lady needed to dress for High Society. Placed in a prominent position in a lady’s bedroom, the service would have signified its owner’s wealth and high status. This nine-piece service is of Austro-Hungarian origin, being created in Vienna in the late 19th century. The service includes a double sided table mirror...

Embriachi workshop marquetry casket Northern Italy, 15th century Alla certosina inlays (bone, stained bone, pewter and wood) H 28.2 x W 18 x D 14 cm This beautiful casket of rectangular form is richly decorated with the characteristic geometric patterns of the Embriachi style. The intricate geometric patterns are fashioned by juxtaposing lighter and darker pieces of wood, (colored) bone, horn and pewter. The lid and base are framed by a broad band of horn. When ivory became scarce in Europe due to disrupted trade routes, bone was substituted. The attention to Symmetry and balance created an harmonious visual effect Enhancing the overall aesthetic appeal of the casket. The application of geometrical motifs is in Italy known as marquetry ‘alla Certosina’, named after the Certosina Church in Pavia with its famous altarpiece decorated in this way. This is ‘intarsia technique’, a term derived from the Arabic 'tarsi', which means ‘incrustation' recalling ancient mosaics made from various materials. These geometric elements not only enhance the aesthetic appeal of the caskets but also demonstrate the versatility and skill of the artisans in creating multifaceted works of art. ‘Alla Certosina’ became famous through the Northern Italian Embriachi family who achieved a particularly high standard in working in this technique. Venice in particular was known for the production of these luxurious boxes. The caskets, hexagonal or rectangular, surmounted by a lid decorated in several registers constitute the secular, albeit equally renowned component of the workshop’s production, in addition to mirror frames and various everyday objects. The method of fabrication of those objects was based on two concepts that underlay pre-industrial production: standardization and modularity, thanks to a distribution of skills according to the different phases of fabrication. even the realization of the marquetry motifs (in the form of ingots from which portions of the desired size were cut) were therefore entrusted to various specialized craftsmen, as were the assembly phase. Today better known thanks to the extensive research work recently carried out by Michele Tomasi, this workshop owes its name to its founder and owner, the Florentine Baldassare Ubriachi (or degli Embriachi), a merchant and banker established in the Tuscan capital before he settled in Venice in 1395. Together with sculptor Giovanni di Jacopo, who directed the workshop, from the last years of the fourteenth century, Baldassare oversaw a production that was truly original, and still easily recognizable today, comprising monumental altarpieces and various objects, primarily triptychs and caskets. The precise location of the workshop is unknown, except that it originated in Florence and in ca. 1431 there was apparently a workshop in Venice, in the area of S Luca. They employed local workers specializing in 'certosina' (inlay of stained woods, bone and horn), and the workshop produced items carved in bone (usually horse or ox) with wood and bone marquetry. The geometric decoration of Embriachi caskets reflects the artistic complexity and attention to detail that characterized their work. this inlaid casket is a testament to the skill and artistry of the Embriachi family and serves as a stunning example of the decorative arts of the late Middle Ages. Related Literature : E. Berger, Prunk-Kassetten: Europäischen Meisterwerke aus acht Jahrhunderten / Ornamental Caskets...

Shaped box in 925/1000 sterling silver gold plated with painted fire enamels like lapis lazuli stone and beautiful miniature hand painted by the painter Beatrice Mellana reproducing ...

We are very pleased to offer a beautiful decorative box, circa the 1980s. This box is a true masterpiece, boasting the artistry and craftsmanship that Incolay stone...

Manopan crank musical organ. 19th Century. It is complete but it does not work, it needs to be revised. It has 6 cards with spanish songs of the time. G...

Large round pillbox in 925/1000 sterling silver gold plated with fine fire-enamelled engraving in two colours, in Florentine Renaissance style. Diameter cm. 5 cm high. 2. Weight gr. ...

Rare and fine quality 19th century Italian Renaissance walnut carved miniature blanket chest or coffer. Fine carving in walnut wood on the fron...

Elegant solid walnut small box, entirely hand-carved. The rectangular chest features an opening top, ideal for storing objects. The front, back, and sides are decorated with geometri...

A rare wooden casket with polychrome and gilded pastiglia relief, Italy, 15th century. The box is adorned with four finely executed scenes from the life of an unknown martyr — beautifully preserved and remarkably vivid after centuries. Dimensions: 15.5 × 10.4 × 9 cm Provenance: Dutch private collection In overall good condition for its age, with minor losses to the surface and possible retouching to the polychromy. The ball feet are likely later additions. Pastiglia [paˈstiʎʎa], an Italian term meaning "pastework", is low relief decoration, normally modelled in gesso or white lead, applied to build up a surface that may then be gilded or painted, or left plain. The technique was used in a variety of ways in Italy during the Renaissance. White lead pastiglia was a north Italian speciality, produced between about 1450 and 1550. Six workshops were identified by Patrick M. De Winter, although their location remains uncertain; the Workshop of the Love and Moral Themes, whose products seem the most numerous, was possibly at Ferrara, where the painter Cosimo Tura began his career gilding caskets. Venice is also thought to have produced them. Other workshops identified by De Winter include the "Workshop of the main Berlin casket" and "Workshop of the Cleveland Casket". The subjects were typically classical, drawn from both mythology and Ancient Roman history (especially the early period covered by Livy), but biblical ones are also found. Compositions can often be shown to be borrowed from another medium, such as prints or bronze plaquettes...

An important early antique Italian Renaissance table box, handcrafted in Northern Italy in the 17th/18th century, cassone chest form, richly inlaid, the top and front panel with fruitwood banding framing...

An extraordinarily rare and visually striking 16th-century Venetian iron treasure coffer, showcasing the height of Renaissance artistry and engineering. Crafted in the early to mid-1...

18th Century or Older Italian Renaissance Style Carved Verdigris Marble Table Box  This exquisite 18th-century or older carved Verdigris marble table box epitomizes Italian Renaissa...

Rare and valuable ebony-plated domed case with rich gilt bronze decoration and central jasper medallion. Italian Renaissance manufacture from the early 17th century. The production...

A rather unique painted chest from Europe, this table coffer was commissioned in 1915. The right side (when viewing from the front) is dated, with the numbers flanking a springing ra...

Square snuff box in 925/1000 sterling silver gold plated with perforated lid, embossed and engraved by hand, with fine round miniature diameter cm. 3.8 hand painted in tempera on veg...

Small, rectangular, enamel keepsake box from Limoges. The lid is decorated with a central medallion featuring the profile of an upper-class woman, who was certainly the owner of this...

Turned, engraved and openwork box Fruit wood Florence, 17th century Measures: Diameter 11cm Height 4.4cm.  

Chest. Carved wood, metal. Spanish school, 16th century. Rectangular casket with a flat lid decorated on the outside with a series of figurative reliefs in a symmetrical arrangemen...

This beautiful 19th century Florentine rectangular lidded box is entirely decorated in the round with all typical Renaissance Italian patterns. The whi...

This lovely antique lacquered apothecary box was crafted in Italy in late 19th century in the style of medicinal herbs casket in use in pharmacies during the Middle Age and Renaissan...

Continental, early 20th century. A antique oval box made of brass and other metals. The box has a basketweave pattern to the exterior and an affixed basalt plaque to the top. The pl...

A dwarf cassone with hinged top with chip carved edge over a paneled case with central keyhole, arcaded carved base.

Italian Renaissance casket. The casket with raised lid all carved with Cherubs on the front and back panel. Original polychrome

Very rare wood, iron and sharkskin domed casket on ball feet. Ornamented with iron strap work and double hasp lock. Silk damask interior. Ex collection of...