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Lot Essay
As in many cassoni of the period, the scenes depicted on the exterior celebrate the glory of the Roman Empire and represent stories derived from History of Rome by Titus Livius Patavinus (c. 59 BC-17 AD). The carving on this cassone features the life of Marcus Furius Camillus (d. 365 B.C.), General, statesman and hero of the Roman Republic, a story which was deliberately highlighted to imply the high moral character of the cassone's owner.
The scene to the right hand side tells the story of the Camillus and the chieftain of the Gauls, Brennus, who invaded Rome in 387 BC. With the threat of famine imminent, the Gauls offered to retreat in exchange for the ransom of a thousand pounds of gold. As the ransom was measured with false weights, the Romans protested, leading Brennus to throw his sword on the scales. To the left of the table, Camillus is shown arriving on horseback, and is then re-embodied to the immediate right, halting the transaction. According to Livy, Camillus declared that the Romans would win their country back by steel not gold, and was credited with defeating the Gauls in the battle that ensued. Serving as a pendant, the left hand scene features an example of an archetypal Emperor, seated on a dais, receiving tribute from a conquered barbarian. To form a sense of continuation throughout the cassone, Camillus is shown again in full armour to the left of the elephant.
Cassoni, or forzieri, were an integral element of the rituals surrounding marriage in Renaissance and Baroque Italy. Before a wedding, one or a pair of cassoni were commissioned from the bride's family as part of her dowry and featured the coat-of-arms of both houses. On the present coat-of-arms, the left section corresponds to the Vitolini family. The Vitolini originated from the city of Vitolini in the Valdarno inferiore, Tuscany. The arms are first recorded in Florence in 1441 when Cristoforo di Piero di Domenico settled in Florence as a notary and became a Florentine resident with his two sons Antonio and Piero. Antonio, who followed the professional steps of his father, was elected gonfaloniere di compania in 1480. The other part of the coat-of-arms remains alas unidentified, but most likely refers to the marriage of a Vitolini member.
While differing in the narrative reliefs, the present cassone shares a remarkable similarity to the carving of the lid, frieze, sides and putti on a pair of cassoni in the Frick Collection, New York (see D. DuBron and T. Dell, The Frick Collection: An Illustrated Catalogue: Volume 5 Furniture: Italian and French, Princeton, 1992, pp. 16-33. A comparable cassone with elaborate scenes from Roman History was sold Christie's, London, 9 November 2006, lot 325 (£48,000 including premium).
The scene to the right hand side tells the story of the Camillus and the chieftain of the Gauls, Brennus, who invaded Rome in 387 BC. With the threat of famine imminent, the Gauls offered to retreat in exchange for the ransom of a thousand pounds of gold. As the ransom was measured with false weights, the Romans protested, leading Brennus to throw his sword on the scales. To the left of the table, Camillus is shown arriving on horseback, and is then re-embodied to the immediate right, halting the transaction. According to Livy, Camillus declared that the Romans would win their country back by steel not gold, and was credited with defeating the Gauls in the battle that ensued. Serving as a pendant, the left hand scene features an example of an archetypal Emperor, seated on a dais, receiving tribute from a conquered barbarian. To form a sense of continuation throughout the cassone, Camillus is shown again in full armour to the left of the elephant.
Cassoni, or forzieri, were an integral element of the rituals surrounding marriage in Renaissance and Baroque Italy. Before a wedding, one or a pair of cassoni were commissioned from the bride's family as part of her dowry and featured the coat-of-arms of both houses. On the present coat-of-arms, the left section corresponds to the Vitolini family. The Vitolini originated from the city of Vitolini in the Valdarno inferiore, Tuscany. The arms are first recorded in Florence in 1441 when Cristoforo di Piero di Domenico settled in Florence as a notary and became a Florentine resident with his two sons Antonio and Piero. Antonio, who followed the professional steps of his father, was elected gonfaloniere di compania in 1480. The other part of the coat-of-arms remains alas unidentified, but most likely refers to the marriage of a Vitolini member.
While differing in the narrative reliefs, the present cassone shares a remarkable similarity to the carving of the lid, frieze, sides and putti on a pair of cassoni in the Frick Collection, New York (see D. DuBron and T. Dell, The Frick Collection: An Illustrated Catalogue: Volume 5 Furniture: Italian and French, Princeton, 1992, pp. 16-33. A comparable cassone with elaborate scenes from Roman History was sold Christie's, London, 9 November 2006, lot 325 (£48,000 including premium).