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Marriage chest (cassone)
ca. 1550
Artwork Viewer
As part of marriage celebrations in Renaissance Italy, large chests like this one were produced in pairs and presented by the groom’s family to the bride. Called cassoni, they were filled with luxury objects forming the bride’s dowry and were carried to the newlyweds’ home as part of the ceremony. Early cassoni were decorated with painted panels by leading artists, but by the sixteenth- century, carved wooden reliefs became the fashion, often in imitation of ancient sarcophagi. Here, scenes from the labors of the ancient hero Hercules extolled the virtues of the groom and augured virility and fertility for the couple.
- Title
- Marriage chest (cassone)
- Date
- ca. 1550
- Place of Creation
- Toscana
- Object Type
- Furnishing
- Medium
- Walnut, partially gilded
- Dimensions
- 30 x 23 x 70 in. (76.2 x 58.4 x 177.8 cm)
- Credit Line
- Gift of The William Randolph Hearst Foundation
- Accession Number
- 1957.152