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Lot Essay
With its elaborate carving depicting scenes from the life of Julius Caesar, this cassone belongs to a small group of closely related examples, now exhibited in the Frick Collection, New York, the Victoria & Albert Museum, London, and the Hermitage, St. Petersburg.
The carving of these cassoni all show scenes of the conquering Roman Emperor Julius Caesar, centred by an almond-shaped armorial escutcheon which is set within a fluted frame with a winged Ephesian Diana on either side. They, in turn, are flanked by slaves. The slaves, one bound, the other breaking free (revealing influence of Michelangelo), are part of the spoils of war, which is the central theme in these victorious scenes of the life of Caesar. The scene on the left side of the panel depicts a chariot laden with the riches of Caesar's glorious conquests, while the right depicts Caesar himself, clad in armour and with his back proudly arched, presenting his conquered riches towards the Treasury, where labourers struggle to open the heavy doors.
(L. Faeson (et. al.), Italian Cassoni, St. Petersburg, 1983, plates 183-192 and D. Dubon (et. al.), The Frick Collection, Princeton, 1992, pages 34-44.)
The carving of these cassoni all show scenes of the conquering Roman Emperor Julius Caesar, centred by an almond-shaped armorial escutcheon which is set within a fluted frame with a winged Ephesian Diana on either side. They, in turn, are flanked by slaves. The slaves, one bound, the other breaking free (revealing influence of Michelangelo), are part of the spoils of war, which is the central theme in these victorious scenes of the life of Caesar. The scene on the left side of the panel depicts a chariot laden with the riches of Caesar's glorious conquests, while the right depicts Caesar himself, clad in armour and with his back proudly arched, presenting his conquered riches towards the Treasury, where labourers struggle to open the heavy doors.
(L. Faeson (et. al.), Italian Cassoni, St. Petersburg, 1983, plates 183-192 and D. Dubon (et. al.), The Frick Collection, Princeton, 1992, pages 34-44.)