Large rosewood and bone veneer box carved... - Lot 35 - Pierre Bergé & Associés

Lot 35
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Estimation :
12000 - 15000 EUR
Result with fees
Result : 14 300EUR
Large rosewood and bone veneer box carved... - Lot 35 - Pierre Bergé & Associés
Large rosewood and bone veneer box carved in low relief, ebony, rectangular shape with high molded cushion lid, resting on ball feet. Decorated all around with standing figures: on the front and sides, facing each other in pairs, mostly bearded figures, some wearing caps, toques, one a wide-brimmed hat; on the back, in the center and facing each other, a beardless man with long hair falling on his shoulders, his hands open, Christ? surrounded by eleven figures in profile; the rest of the geometric decoration with wolf teeth and diamond-shaped friezes; the lid decorated with naked angels on a background of foliage with, in the centre of the top, a plate sculpted with a crowned column in a diamond, the arms of the Roman family of Colonna. The interior is trimmed with old pink damask silk, decorated with latticework, leafy branches, poly-lobed reserves and a fleur-de-lis. Northern Italy, Embriachi workshop, mid 15th century Height: 40 cm - Length: 52.1 cm - Depth: 23.3 cm (minor restorations, traces of glue in places) This imposing box, one of the most important known, presents a decorative theme unusual in the production of the Embriachi workshop, which is generally courtly, biblical or taken from Italian literature such as the short stories of Boccaccio. Here, each character occupies a single plate, some of them wearing priestly or princely headdresses and some of them seem to be conversing together. On the back, a figure in front could represent Christ, his open hands seem to show an attitude of welcome to the three couples surrounding him and looking at each other face to face. However, it is likely that some of the plates were moved during a restoration and have somewhat blurred the artist's initial message. The Colonna family belonged to an illustrious family of Roman origin that supplied several popes and counted many prelates. This casket may have belonged to Prospero Colonna (1410-1463), a cardinal in Rome and nephew of Pope Martin V, which may shed light on the original decorative choice of this casket. Books consulted: L. Martini under the direction of, Oggetti in avorio e osso nel Museo nazionale di Ravenna sec. XV-XIX, Ravenna, 1993; Exhibition Brescia 2001, "Bottega degli Embriachi" cofanetti e cassettine tra Gotico e Rinascimento, Brixiantiquaria, cat; M. Tomasi, La Bottega degli Embriachi, Florence, 2001
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