SWISS, 15TH CENTURY

Details

A RECTANGULAR CARVED FRUITWOOD COFFER
SWISS, 15TH CENTURY
The hinged lid decorated with a prancing griffin with two crowns to either side; the body with gothic script to the front and sides, reading 'vincit om.... or'; the rear panel replaced; minor worming, damages and alterations; oxidisation to the hinges
5¼ x 7½ x 3¾ in. (13.4 x 19 x 9.5 cm.)

Provenance

Canton of Unterwalden

Literature

COMPARATIVE LITERATURE:
E. Berger, Ornamental Caskets - Eight Centuries of European Craftsmanship, Stuttgart, 1998, pp. 190-191, no. 21

Special notice

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 17.5% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis

Lot Essay

This coffer must have originally been given as a love token, judging by the (incomplete) inscription around the body: '[am]or vincit om[nia]' - love conquers all. The fantastical beast on the lid is closely comparable to some beasts on the lid of a coffer sold by Sotheby's (5 October 2000, lot 23), which was descriubed as 'Upper Rhine, late 15th century', and is virtually identical in the lettering and background diaper-pattern decoration on a casket illustrated in Berger (loc. cit), described as 'German, circa 1450'.

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