Lot Essay
The five plaquettes embedded in the casket bear no relation to each other in terms of iconography or artist. The plaquette on the lid of the casket is of a lion hunt after a model by Valerio Belli (circa 1468-1546); the others, respectively, are a plaquette of Julius Caesar; Virtue Uncovered by Vice, after a model by the Pseudo-Fra Antonio da Brescia (active c. 1487-1514), which is based compositionally on an engraving by Benedetto Montagna; a Cacus Stealing the Oxen of Hercules after Moderno; and an allegorical scene, possibly depicting Bacchus and Ariadne, after a model by the Master IO.F.F..
Although many plaquettes of this type had particular uses, for example for inserting in the pommel of the hilt of a sword, they have always been of interest to the cultivated collector. However, placing them into a casket in this way is unusual, showing an imaginative use of the plaquettes for a decorative purpose.
Although many plaquettes of this type had particular uses, for example for inserting in the pommel of the hilt of a sword, they have always been of interest to the cultivated collector. However, placing them into a casket in this way is unusual, showing an imaginative use of the plaquettes for a decorative purpose.