Exceptional Cathedral Chest

Exceptional Italian Renaissance « Cassone » Origine : Italy, Florence or Siena Period : Late 15th Century Measures: Height: 63 cm Length: 1...

CURVED LID CHEST ORIGIN : SPAIN PERIOD : EARLY 16th CENTURY, CA. 1500 Height : 49 cm Length : 106 cm Depth : 42 cm Softwood Wrought iron, nails, hasp lock...

This Gothic walnut chest, with an exceptional patina, is a good example of furniture intended to be transported during the frequent journeys made by quality people in medieval times....

IMPORTANT FRENCH RENAISSANCE CHEST ORIGIN : BURGUNDY, FRANCE PERIOD : 16th CENTURY, 2nd FRENCH RENAISSANCE Height: 85cm Length: 170cm Depth: 68cm Oak wood Good condition Original lock Chest is an essential item of Medieval and Renaissance furniture. With its handles it was conceived to be easily moved from one house to another. It would hold linens, dishes or jewellery. Chest was also the ideal wedding present and would enclose the bride’s trousseau. In the middle of the 16th century chests are decisively transformed, their conception now favouring architecture, sculpture and images. This oak wood chest shows impressive proportions with a solid frame. Large mullions are assembled with mortise and tenon joints also securing three carved panels. The facade lower part comprises a high plinth hiding the base of the jambs and acting as feet. It is carved with a frieze of canal motifs topped with palm leaves. The carved decor spreads over the facade of the chest and underlines its structure. On the mullions appears a vegetal decor including roses and palm leaves executed with rigorous symmetry. They frame three rectangular panels. The central one is enriched with two female sphinxes back to back. They wear helmets and spread their wings while their body is partially hidden by long leaves. In the centre a female mask is positioned over draperies. The two lateral panels show a similar but not identical decor. Indeed we can notice a few variations in the motifs. The left hand side panel is adorned with a cut-out leather upon which is depicted two extraordinary ram heads. Their bodies are intertwined with the leather and vegetal motifs in elegant scrolls. A large chou bourguignon stands between both heads. The panel is centred with another ram’s head carved in high relief. On the right hand side panel the composition is alike. The chou bourguignon has been replaced with a shell and the lower part of the panel is adorned with two large fully bloomed flowers. The chest is topped with a frieze of geometrical motifs including scrolls, ovals and rectangles. On the sides, the surface is divided in two moulded rectangular spaces adorned with frame-like scrolls, rectangular cartouches and palm leaves. The chest closes with a massive original lid that can be locked with a key. The important and abundant sculpted decor of this chest allows us to locate its conception in the Burgundy region, France. The regular composition is allied to a remarkable imaginative freedom in the execution of the figures. The very rich iconography draws from the art of Fontainebleau as well as Italian art. The Italian Wars have indeed favoured artistic exchanges and influences between France and the peninsula. The craze for Italian art, particularly during the reign of King François I...

The lower part of the facade is adorned with a foliated and fruit garland. The facade’s central panel bears a low-relief decor framed by a rais-de-cœur frieze. The central scene a...

This chest stands on a high moulded plinth. It was made from a fine walnut wood and shows good traces of polychromy and gold leaf decor. The facade’s two panels, once colourful, ...

An exceptional Swedish Gustavian dowry chest with original paint on the interior and exterior. The interior painting depicts a marriage scene and...

Small Antique painted blancket chest Measures: H. 31cm - L. 72cm - P. 45cm Rare small chest in painted fir wood. The decorations are geometric, of an intense blue color, with ...

PRESENTING AN ‘ABOLUTELY STUNNING’ PIECE OF IRISH FURNITURE HISTORY, namely, an 18C Irish George II Mahogany Silver Chest on the most amazing and EXCEPTIONAL Carved Stand. Made circa 1745, by an obviously ‘top quality’ Irish Georgian furniture...

Large leather and iron bound travel chest, very rare in its dimensions Late 15th century, Northern France Dimensions: h.103 cm, w. 178 cm, d. 77cm ( (H. 40.55 in, w. 70.08 in. d. 30.31 in) Our rectangular-shaped chest opens with a rounded lid. It is entirely covered in leather veneered on a wooden core, and decorated with wrought and crafted iron frames and hinges. It is garnished on all sides with iron hinges cut at the ends of Gothic trefoils. On the facade two lock plates with cut-out cloverleaf borders fitted with a hasp (one missing) attached to the cover. The iron bands serving as reinforcements on all sides as well as the central bands are decorated with plant and floral friezes and geometric patterns. These strips are attached to the wood using daisy-headed nails, typical of the French Renaissance. Given its size and loaded weight, our trunk has four carrying handles: two wrought iron side handles, but also two front handles. The interior has a stretched fabric dating from at least the 17th century, we find on the interior sides of the cover the original raspberry-colored vellum. This is a rare model in leather and iron of very large dimensions. Expensive materials, which were only used on small Gothic boxes (20 cm to 50 cm in length) like those in the public collections of many museums. Large chests exceeding 1 meter in length for the sake of economy and simplicity were generally made of wood sometimes covered with iron cladding. We found a large chest in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of New York, but still smaller than ours (inv. 47.144, dim. H: 22 1/2" W: 50 1/2" D: 21"). There are also two similar large chests (with flat or slightly domed lids) in the collections of the Barcelona Leather...

A fine Regency mahogany six drawer Wellington chest with finely carved side pilasters and hand cast brass knob handles. Bespoke sizing, design adap...

Elegant coffer in a dark fruitwood, exceptional combination of carved Royal Crowns an Eagles and a red textile, France, 18th century, elegant claw feed there are also metal finish...