AN EXTREMELY RARE AUGSBURG CASKET
Ebony, agate plates painted with various allegorical subjects.
Augsburg, early 17th century.
Dimensions : h. 17,5 cm, l. 18 cm, p. 15 cm
Each side of the casket as well as the top of the lid and the bottom are decorated with large elliptical agate plates inserted in frames. The lid has additional insertions around its perimeter of four red agate plates painted in oil on both sides. Each of the lower parts also hosts a painted agate plate in its center. The contrast is striking between the sobriety of ebony and the natural colors of agate. All the subjects are mostly allegorical and represent the metaphorical vision of the world in connection with the philosophy of the "kunstkammer" based on their fundamental function of reflecting the world. Our casket was not intended to be used as a container, but was designed as a luxurious work of art with the sole function of reflecting the fortune of its owner. The series of miniatures painted in oil on semi-precious stones offers a perpetual exploration of the object and transforms an artisanal creation into a truly sophisticated work of art. A total of 16 paintings are made on 16 small plates set in ebony. The four large oval plates weren’t painted. The most painted panels of similar objects were made on other materials such as different marbles, alabaster, lapis lazuli. The theme chosen to underline the meaning of the whole work is the representation of the world and focuses on the allegories of the four elements, four seasons and four continents. The theme of this last series remains enigmatic.
Comparanda :
The Uppsala cabinet, The Grand Duke of Tuscany cabinet (Palazzo Pitti), and a remarkable similar box in the Herzog Anton Ulrich Museum from the collection of Duke Augustus of Brunswick-Lüneburg.
Our casket and these three other similar ones, are certainly coming from the art-dealer Philipp Hainhofer. Full documentation available.
RESERVED