Lot 340 | Bone and wood cassette with figural decor

BONE AND WOOD CASSETTE WITH FIGURAL DECOR.

Presumably Italy.
Date: Presumably 18th/19th century.
Maker/Designer: In the manner of the Embriachi workshop, Venice.
Technique: Carved bone, wooden corpus.
Description: Rectangular box with sliding lid on top. Depicted on it are three horsemen between trees.
Along the edges of the top fine tendril ornamentation with blossoms. On the sides of the
box, circumferential figural reliefs with secular and ecclesiastical rulers as well as
knights and monks.
Measurement: 12x28,5x17,5cm.


Literature:
Hegemann, Hans-Werner: Das Elfenbein in Kunst und Kultur Europas, Mainz 1988, p.98f.

The box presented here goes back to the work of the famous Bottega degli Embriacchi in Venice. In their workshops they mainly created small objects such as combs, small altars, mirror frames and especially coffrets ("Minnekästchen"). These carvings were mainly made of bone, as ivory had become very scarce in the 15th century due to difficult trade relations with Arab countries. Among the flourishing Italian workshops, the Embriachi were the most renowned and achieved great fame in the 14th and 15th century. Their works quickly found their way into the chambers of art and curiosities of the highest society. They were so in tune with the collector's taste of the time that French and Upper Italian workshops also adapted their style.