CASKET WITH HUNTING SCENES

This spectacular casket inlaid alla certosina with mother-of-pearl and bone decoration is one of a group of cabinets and furniture which were previously thought to have been manufactured by German gunstock makers but more recently have been attributed to Venetian workshops. The distinctive hunting scenes are seen on other pieces in this group including a table at Castle Drogo, Devon, and The Poniatowski Table sold in these rooms on the 9th December 2010, lot 295. The catalogue entry for the latter written by Alvar Gonzáles-Palacios outlines the stylistic similarities which point to this group being made in Venice at some point in the late sixteenth or early seventeenth century. Some of these bear the same punchmark which is burnt into the wood and contains the letters CCC, which has been suggested are the initials of Carlo, Cardinal Conti (1556-1615) a member of an illustrious Roman family. Two of the pieces of furniture bear the dates 1603 and 1604, which would seem to validate the letters in the punchmark.