A North Italian Certosina inlaid chest
Rectangular coffer inlaid with bone / ivory, green stained horn, tin, boxwood, ebony and mother-of-pearl on a wooden corpus, resting on later bun feet. Decorated on all faces in the Certosina manner, the lid with a chequerboard pattern. The interior fitted with a round mirror and lined with marbled paper. The lock missing, minor losses and amendments, the rosette on the lid replaced in glass, the wood of the base with older filled shrinkage cracks. H 8.7, W 21.1, D 13.5 cm.
Northern Italy / Venice, late 15th / mid-16th C.
This casket is inspired by those produced in the Embriachi workshop, which was founded in Florence by Baldassare degli Embriachi (active 1380 - 1410) and operated in Venice from 1400 onwards. The workshop specialized in wooden caskets covered with small ivory or bone reliefs. Many similar products were created based on their designs, which also show the influence of objects from the Eastern Mediterranean and Arab countries.
Provenance
South German Private collection.
Literature
Cf. a similar box in the collection of Hanns Schell (in Pall, Versperrbare Kostbarkeiten, Graz 2006, no. 29).
Cf. A gaming board in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, acc. no. 2010.109.4.
Exhibitions
Kostbar und Geheimnisvoll..., Miniaturmöbel und Schatzkästchen Sammlung Grothe, Museum Huelsmann, Bielefeld, no. 6.