Cassone : coffre de mariage (offert à la mariée, il reste sa propriété)



format géant : http://www.rijksmuseum.nl/images/aria/bk/z/bk-16628.z

This elongated chest was made in fifteenth-century Italy. It was the custom at that time to give a cassone as the chest is called, as a wedding gift when a young woman married. Often it remained her only personal possession. This wedding chest is decorated with figures of women seated. They represent the four cardinal virtues The paintings were a reminder to the lady to behave virtuously.

Cassone  15th C.
Poplar with iron handles
53,5 x 144 x 44,5 cm
BK-16628

Cassone : Italian for chest. The cassone was the principal piece of furniture in 16th-century Italy. Cassoni served as chest, case as well as seat. Young brides would often receive a finely worked cassone as a wedding gift. So cassoni might be decorated with the family coat of arms or with depictions of virtue and edifying episodes from the Bible. A young woman could not be allowed to enter marriage without some instruction. Later, many cassoni were taken apart so that the decorated front panel could be hung as a painting.



http://www.rijksmuseum.nl/aria/aria_assets/BK-16628?lang=en&context_space=aria_c...

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