Caption

Jewel box, pietra dura technique; made of blackened wood, partly ebony; cuboid with chamfered corners supported on four gilded bronze volute legs decorated with a mascaron at the base. Edges of base and lid with profiled ebony strips. Decorated on side walls with six mosaic reserves and one plaque on the lid: front and back panels show two fruits on a branch; side panels show three fruits on a branch and an insect at the bottom. Corners feature cast gilded bronze garlands topped with medusa masks and plastic fruits made of semi-precious stones 7 pieces each. Hinged, profiled lid with a large plate showing three fruits on branches tied with a sash and an insect above; side walls decorated with gilded bronze garlands with plastic fruits; corners with gilded bronze shells; front with preserved keyhole. Dated to the early 18th century; attributed to Florence, Italy ; chest; height 34.5 cm, width 41.5 cm, depth 50.5 cm., A dark wooden octagonal chest with its lid open, showing concentric rectangular inlay patterns in gold on the inner lid and inner sides, sits on a light gray surface against a pale gray background. The exterior wood is deep brown to black with gold trim and ornate gilded corner mounts and feet in a decorative scroll design. The front panels feature inset oval medallions with painted fruit and foliage in colors including green, purple, pink, red, and orange, each surrounded by a blue and red border. Gilded decorative elements and clusters of light-colored, pearly stones or shell-like beads adorn the side corners, adding touches of gold and off-white. The interior surfaces reflect the same dark wood and gold linear decoration, and small metal hinges and hardware in a silvery tone are visible where the lid meets the body.

Credit line

Photo12/Liszt Collection

Reference

LZT26A16_158

License type

Rights managed

Available size

91.1Mb (2.5Mb) / 17.7in x 20.0in / 5305 x 6000 (300dpi)

Keywords

Jewel box pietra dura technique blackened wood partly ebony cuboid chamfered corners supported four gilded bronze volute legs decorated mascaron base Edges lid profiled ebony strips Decorated side walls six mosaic reserves plaque front back panels two fruits branch side panels three fruits insect bottom Corners feature cast bronze garlands topped medusa masks plastic fruits semi-precious stones 7 pieces Hinged profiled lid large plate showing branches tied sash side walls decorated gilded bronze garlands corners gilded bronze shells preserved keyhole Dated early 18th century attributed Florence Italy chest height 34.5 cm width 41.5 cm depth 50.5 cm dark wooden octagonal chest lid open showing concentric rectangular inlay patterns gold inner lid inner sides sits light gray surface pale gray background exterior wood deep brown black gold trim ornate corner mounts feet decorative scroll design front panels inset oval medallions painted fruit foliage colors green purple pink red orange surrounded blue red border Gilded decorative elements clusters light-colored pearly stones shell- beads adorn side corners adding touches off-white interior surfaces reflect dark wood gold linear decoration small metal hinges hardware silvery tone visible lid meets body.