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Italian late 16th century walnut cassone

Code: LVS509

Dimensions:

A rare Italian late 16th century (1580) walnut cassone (marriage chest) in excellent, original condition, from the Tuscan area of Italy. FURTHER IMAGES CAN BE VIEWED BELOW:

This cassone is in exceptional condition for its age and has been sourced from a private collection in London, UK, a very similar cassone can be seen in The Gardner Museum in Boston, USA.

The piece consists of a plain & moulded solid walnut top with a dental moulding below.

The front consists of two recessed finely carved panels, one of a male figure and the other a female figure in the typical Italian style and symbolizing marriage and love.

The two outer carytiads are of female form, the central carving being a carved lion, bird and coat of arms and traces of original polychrome decoration can be seen here.

Below is a carved moulding with superbly carved scroll front feet with central Grotesques and a central scrolling decoration below.

Each of the ends are panelled with original iron carrying handles.

The top still has its original lock, unfortunately without its key but does have original metalwork hinges.

There is evidence of old woodworm which is to be expected for a piece of this age, the back feet have been replaced at some point, again this is not unusual.