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Large wooden box with carved scenes of figures

A large wooden box in a dark red-brown color. There are two rectangles on the front of the box with carved “frames” protruding from the wood. The rectangles contain two different relief carvings of procession scenes. Several figures around horses and unicorns pulling small chariots with more figures riding on them. The rest of the box is also covered with relief carvings of figures standing, playing lutes, or riding on horseback. The background around the figures is black and textured. There is a large, dark filigree keyhole in the center of the box’s side.

Gallery Text

The rectangular medallions on this marriage chest illustrate two of the Triumphs (I trionfi), a series of allegorical poems by the fourteenth-century Italian poet Petrarch. As befits this type of domestic object, often associated with a dowry, the scenes depict themes relating to marriage: the Triumph of Chastity on the left and the Triumph of Love on the right. Allegorical figures representing these virtues are shown seated on carts, the heroes of their respective processions, in a playful reference to the ancient Roman practice of according a victor in battle a formal welcome to a city. While some cassoni had painted panels inserted into them, this one employs a different form of decoration. Through shallow relief carving, the forms and scroll patterns emerge like cutouts from the background, which is punched with a fine lozenge pattern. The dark areas that resemble drawn lines were rendered by pyrography, or marks applied with a heated metal implement.

Identification and Creation

Object Number
1927.48
People
Unidentified Artist
Title
Cassone (Marriage Chest)
Classification
Furniture
Work Type
chest
Date
1475-1500
Places
Creation Place: Europe, Italy, Northern Italy
Culture
Italian
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/227634

Location

Location
Level 2, Room 2540, European Art, 13th–16th century, The Renaissance
View this object's location on our interactive map

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Walnut with carved and burned decoration
Dimensions
57.2 x 175.3 x 53.3 cm (22 1/2 x 69 x 21 in.)

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Friends of the Fogg Art Museum Fund
Accession Year
1927
Object Number
1927.48
Division
European and American Art
Contact
am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu
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Exhibition History

  • Re-View: S422-423 Western Art of the Middle Ages & Renaissance, Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Cambridge, 08/16/2008 - 06/18/2011
  • 32Q: 2540 Renaissance, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 11/16/2014 - 01/01/2050

Verification Level

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of European and American Art at am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu