Art objects
Rosette casket
Extraordinary casket with fir wood body, entirely covered with finely engraved and sculpted bone plaques. The type of material and especially the manufacturing method make it a work of Venetian area, datable to the 14th-15th century, essentially a pre-Embryan manufacture of late Byzantine taste. Measurements: 42 x 20 x 12 cm
Expertise by Dr. Benedetta Chiesi
Reference bibliography
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The Ivories of the National Museum of Bargello, ILARIA CISERI, ISBN 10: 8899765650 / ISBN 13: 9788899765651 - Publisher: Officina Libraria, 2017 (comparison copy on pp. 30 - 31)
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Monstrance
Refined monstrance made of entirely gilded and chiseled bronze.
The upper part features the capsule used to contain the particle, surrounded by the rays of the so-called Sol Invictus, a symbol of divinity later also acquired by the Christian religion as an emblem of the victory of divine light over sin.
The container is protected by glass and supported by a shaft, which in turn consists of a sculpture depicting an angel, which recalls the style of authors such as Jean de Boulogne, known as Giambologna (Douai, 1529 - Florence, 13 August 1608).
Work originating from Central Italy and dating back to the first quarter of the 17th century.
Dimensions: 31.5 x 13 cm
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Paste casket
Casket of Mantuan artistic tradition and dating back to the beginning of the 16th century.
The work, made of beech wood, is decorated with the pastiglia technique and embellished with gold leaf.
The quality of the workmanship, the richness of the decoration and the choice of materials testify to the skill of the Mantuan craftsmen of the 16th century and the diffusion of a refined taste among the aristocracy of the time.
Caskets featuring this type of decoration were widespread in the Gonzaga circle, and the main themes were Roman Triumphs or, as in this case, decorations of an ecclesiastical nature.
Dimensions: 42 x 26 x 30 cm
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Inca mask
Inca mask dating back to the pre-Columbian age of the aforementioned empire, in a period that goes approximately from the beginning of the 13th to the end of the 14th century. It comes from the northern coast of Peru, in the Lambayeque valley. As for its function, it was a funerary mask, perhaps of royal origin, made of hammered metal sheets, rectangular in shape. The execution material is an alloy of 56% gold, 41% silver and 3% copper, which effectively makes it 14k gold. The suggestive minimalist features of the face are typical of the manufactures of the Lambayeque valley. The same goes for the almond-shaped eyes, the raised nasal septum that starts at the top in correspondence with the edges, the closed and stylized mouth with some vertical wrinkles that cross it transversely, as well as the remains of a vibrant cinnabar pigment. Similar specimens, documented in the report, are preserved at the MET in New York, in the Le Corneur-Roudillon Gallery in Paris and in the Brüning Museum in Lambayeque. ​Provenance: private collection Hawaii, USA, from 2000 to 2010; former G-Cardenas Collection, Texas, United States; ex Eugene Lions Collection, Geneva, Switzerland Measurements: 2.5 x 19.6 x 16.8 cm
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Reference bibliography​
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Snuffbox
Refined and precious French snuffbox, made in the 18th century.
The oval-shaped body, with a gold-ribbed base and abalone shell in various shades of green and purple, is enclosed within gold borders with embossed floral motifs; the lid is set with an oval enamel portrait of a young nobleman, probably Louis of Bourbon-France (1751-1761), surrounded by a row of old-cut diamonds.
Dimensions: 6.5 x 5.2 x 2.8 cm