An Italian Renaissance Marriage Chest

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About the Item

ITALIAN RENAISSANCE CARVED WALNUT CASSONE 17th-early 18th century, probably northern Italian The cassone was a quintessential object-and arguably the most important-in the household of an aristocrat during the Italian Renaissance. They were the most widely produced decorative art objects during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, commissioned in commemoration of a wedding. It was not uncommon for two families to unite in marriage for the sole purpose of financial or political gain. As a result, gifts displaying the wealth of both families were an important factor in matrimony. In preparation for the wedding, it was customary for the man to commission a marriage chest like this one, to be used in the wedding procession and later in the household of the newlyweds. Given as gifts from the groom to the bride's family, cassoni were almost always produced in pairs. Inside each chest would have been placed a small casket, often of silver or another precious material. Knowing this, one can infer that the work put into one pair of chests was tremendous and came from the botteghe of several different craftsmen, including those of the woodworker, gold beater, goldsmith, and often the painter. Mythological narratives were frequently painted along the sides of and on the underside of the lid of a cassone. These narratives served the purpose of detailing to a woman her husband's expectations for her behavior, while imagery on the inner lid had a more personal, and often sexual, connotation. This cassone is surprisingly minimal in its design elements. It is not painted, and lacks any traces of paint or gold leaf, a typical addition to the Renaissance marriage chest, suggesting it probably served as a simpler chest destined not for the bedroom but rather the kitchen or storage room. There are traces of its use seen on the blank cartouche under the keyhole, where dents from other keys on the same key ring appear to have been made from the chest's continual unlocking and locking. Set on claw-shaped feet, this cassone is a splendid example of craftsmanship in northern Italy during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. It also features the classicizing caryatid motif, meant in this case not to replace the use of a pillar, but rather as a solely a decorative element. The caryatid was one of the most widely used motifs during the Renaissance, although here the depiction uses the less common atlante, the male counterpart to the caryatid.

Dimensions:
Height: 22.75 in (57.79 cm)Width: 67 in (170.18 cm)Depth: 22.75 in (57.79 cm)
Materials and Techniques:
Walnut
Place of Origin:
Italy
Period:
18th Century and Earlier
Date of Manufacture:
c. late 17th-early 18h century
Condition:
Some restoration, otherwise good.
Seller Location:
New York, NY
Reference Number:
1stDibs: U1207118889182

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