Casket
Casket, Italy, (Siena ?), late 14th century late 1300s
1954.600
Not on display
This casket is one of only a few of its kind to survive in such a fine state of preservation. A wide variety of such caskets must have been used in the homes of the wealthy to store personal items such as jewelry, seals, mirrors, and combs. A keyhole and lock were provided for security. Caskets like this were highly decorated and meant to be seen in the home. This chest has been embellished with representations of the virtues, female figures intended to convey such abstract ideas as chastity or fidelity. Representations of these concepts-concerning woman's relationship to man-are common on betrothal and marriage chests at the end of the Middle Ages. Such chests were acquired by women as gifts either from suitors or from their husbands when they were married.
Images Copyright © the artist, their estate, and/or the Cleveland Museum of Art.
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