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Introduction Parts I + II 

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Figure 0.7

Unknown, Cassone with Scenes from the History of David, 1570, carved chestnut wood, 99 x 190.5 x 63.5 cm, London: Victoria & Albert Museum. Accession number: 7212-1860 

This chest is part of a notable pair of cassoni housed in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Together, these cassoni present a cohesive and continuous narrative that revolves around the life of the biblical hero David. Through a series of intricate and thoughtfully crafted scenes, the chests offer a visual storytelling experience, capturing key moments and chapters from David's extraordinary life.

Additional Information:

  • Location: London: The Victoria and Albert Museum.

  • Provenance: Bought (Soulages Collection), £250.
    Lent (with 7213-1860) to the National Gallery (returned 2004) where they were displayed on their low wooden plinths with wave pattern decoration. 

Figure 0.13

Lorenzo di Credi and Workshop, Chest with Pitti coat of arms, end of the 15th century, poplar wood painted with tempera, Florence: Museo Horne. 

This painted cassone features a family cartouche positioned between two hybrid putti, whose lower bodies transform into floral designs. Although the medium used is painting, the artist incorporates an all'antica design with monochromatic representations that create the illusion of three-dimensional reliefs. This cassone, along with the subsequent example (fig. 0.14), can be seen as a precursor to the prominent carved reliefs found in sixteenth-century cassoni designs.

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Additional Information:

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Figure 0.14

Giovanni Maria Falconetto, Cassone Front: Ancient Procession and Battle, 1500, painted pine, 51.4 x 184.2 cm, Boston: Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. Accession number: F16w2

Similar to the previous cassone (0.13), this example also employs the painting medium to create a striking monochromatic design. However, the front panel of this cassone distinguishes itself by featuring a captivating continuous frieze depicting an elaborate ancient procession and battle scene.

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Inscribed (center): [an unidentified coat of arms]
Inscribed (on a paper label affixed to the verso, in black ink): Falconeto Giovanni Maria / Veronese nato nel 1458.

Additional Information:

  • Location: Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.  

  • Bibliography: 

    • Rankin, William. “Cassone Fronts in American Collections.” The Burlington Magazine for          Connoisseurs 9, no. 40 (1906): 288.

    • Baskins, Cristelle Louise, Alan Chong, Jacqueline Marie Musacchio, and Adrian W. B.    Randolph, eds. The Triumph of Marriage: Painted Cassoni of the Renaissance. Boston: Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 2008. 78-79, fig. 46.

  • Provenance: Purchased by Isabella Stewart Gardner from the collector and dealer Michelangelo Guggenheim (1837-1914), Venice for 1,200 lire on 28 September 1897.

Figure 0.15

Unknown, Design of Five Chests and a Cradle, third quarter of the sixteenth century, Italian (Rome), pen drawing, private collection.

This design sketch showcases five cassoni designs and one cradle, each featuring distinct patterns and motifs in the style of the sixteenth century.

Additional Information:

  • Location: Private Collection.

  • Bibliography: Kisluk-Grosheide, Daniëlle O., Wolfram Koeppe and William Rieder. European Furniture in The Metropolitan Museum of Art: Highlights of the Collection. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art; New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2006. 22, fig. 10.​

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Figure 0.16

Anonymous, Design for a Cassone (Recto), 1530-60, Pen and brown ink, brush and gray-brown wash, 41 x2 7.2 cm, New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Accession number: 66.621.3  

This design drawing depicts a comprehensive decorative scheme for a sixteenth-century cassone. The front panel showcases intricate decorations of grotesque hybrid creatures and plant motifs, while the drawing also encompasses the overall design scheme of the entire chest.

Additional Information:

Figure 0.17

Unknown (formerly attributed to Perino del Vega), Design for a Chest, mid-16th century, Italy (Rome), Pen and ink (black), wash, chalk (black) on paper, 21.3x27 cm, London: The Courtauld Institute of Art. 

This drawing showcases another carved cassone design, characterized by a shift towards a more narrative-focused theme. While the specific narrative depicted is not clearly discernible, the drawing presents one side of the chest's decorative scheme, following the common practice of tailoring designs to individual patrons. In addition to the narrative panels, the drawing also includes the design and shape of the entire chest, featuring a blank cartouche intended for the future patron's family emblem.

Additional Information:

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Figure 0.18

Unknown, Design for a Coffer, after 1550, pen drawing, Florence: Uffizi Gallery. 

Similar to the previous example, this design sketch presents only one side of the cassone. However, unlike the previous example, it showcases half of the chest rather than the entire design. The decorations in this sketch cover almost the entire chest, with an elliptical panel capturing the depiction of a figure, likely a putto, riding a sea-hybrid creature. On the side of the chest's front, a caryatid resembling a boat's figurehead is prominently featured, a characteristic commonly found in these carved cassoni.

Additional Information:

  • Location: Galleria degli Uffizi. 

  • Bibliography:

    • Schottmüller, Frida. Furniture and Interior Decoration of the Italian Renaissance. New York: Brentano’s, 1921, XXXI, fig. 29.

    • Tinti, Mario. Il mobilio Fiorentino. Milan and Rome: Casa Editrice D’Arte Bestetti e Tumminelli, 1928, table. LXXIII.

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