Spanish, probably Catalonia, mid-15th century
Casket
Estimate
18,000 - 22,000 EUR
Lot Details
Description
Spanish, probably Catalonia, mid-15th century
Casket
wood covered with gesso, painted, gilt and partially guilloché; brass hinges, handle and lock
each side and the lid painted with angels holding a candelabra, on a foliated background with birds and small animals; the scenes partially guilloché on the foliage, candelabra, halos and borders; the interior of the box painted with white stars on a red background
a label under the box inscribed in black ink ‘533 / £400’, another inside ‘c REO / N. AEO’
12.5 by 20.3 by 12.2cm.; 4⅞ by 8 by 4¾in.
This type of small polychromed and lavishly gilt casket with a domed lid, the backgrounds adorned with guilloché scrollwork, is typical of Catalan production during the International Gothic period. Examples decorated with courtly subjects or heraldic animals were given as wedding gifts, while others, with religious subjects, such as this example, were intended for private devotion. Caskets of similar shapes are preserved at the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya and the Museu Frederic Marès in Barcelona; another example, with courtly subjects, is in the Victoria & Albert Museum (inv. 483-1899).
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