Italian Renaissance cassone

With flat hinged top opening to a open compartment. The curved case carved with a crest and figures and various designs. Bracket feet with trefoil form apro...

This cassone, remarkable for its sobriety, sits on two clawed lion’s feet and a moulded base. On the façade, there is one large, moulded frame, with two soberly carved medallions inside it. Each medallion has a painted coat of arms at the centre. The two coats of arms are different, suggesting that there was an alliance between two families through marriage. The thick lid has a fluted frieze at the front. On the sides, a wrought iron handle reminds us of the use of this piece, which was intended for storing the property of its owner and allowing them to travel between various residences. The square shaped handles highlight the earliness of this object in the century. The cassone is, along with the bed, a key piece of furniture of the Middle Ages and was still used in the Renaissance Period.