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Writing case with "intarsia" inlays, Florence,...

Price Tax incl.:
11500 EUR

Writing case with "intarsia" inlays, Florence, Italy period: late 15th century Dimensions: h. 23 cm, w. 45cm, d. 29 cm Solid walnut with inlays of various stained native woods A rare writing case with complex inlay decoration, belonging to a group of furniture and objects executed in Florence using the "intarsia" technique during the 15th century, during the "quattrocento", the first Italian Renaissance. Rectangular in shape, our chest opens with a lid revealing an interior containing four drawers and three compartments. Its three sides and the inside of the lid feature a rich repertoire of the most beautiful geometric motifs created by inlays of small tesserae and wood fillets in various shades (from light to dark). Interlocking chevron friezes, zigzag bands, hexagon friezes incorporating checkerboards, rhombus friezes; multiple and complex geometric decor culminating in the center of the front and sides with series of eight-pointed stars formed from three-dimensional polyhedra, one facing the checkerboard, positioned inside the two interlocking frames. The inside of the lid reveals a geometrical decoration composed of several bands of tesserae, with the intarsia illustrating the Instruments of the Passion in the center, framed by a frieze of empty lozenges and checkerboard. On a mound depicting Golgotha are represented : - The humanized sun and moon (the eclipse) - Crucifixion cross with INRI plaque - The Holy Sponge at the end of a branch - The ladder (to lower the body of the dead Christ) - The flagellation column - The centurion's lance piercing Christ's side - The rooster on top of the column (St. Peter's denial) The outside of the lid features a checkerboard in the middle, allowing the chest to be used as a game box, with interior compartments for storing pawns, for example. Objects and furniture were versatile in the 15th century, due to their scarcity. Our box is part of the artistic movement combining geometry and perspective that went hand in hand with the architectural prowess of the Italian Renaissance. The art of inlay is deployed here in a quest for three-dimensional forms. Artists multiplied visual techniques, using pieces of wood in contrasting colors to create depth and shadow, to give the impression of three-dimensional objects in a two-dimensional space. Related works - Coffret, Sotheby's London sale, 03/12/2014, lot 74 (inside lid not decorated) - Coffret, Musée Jacquemart-André de Chaalis, Fontaine-Chaalis Two other similar boxes are illustrated in M. Tinti, Il Mobilio Fiorentino , Milan, 1929, pl. XIX ; Catalogus van meubelen en betimmeringen , cat. Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, The Hague, 1952, no. 384, fig. 10 Geometry and perspective studies played an important role in the upper echelons of the Florentine aristocracy. Our box testifies not only to the art of intarsia, but above all to the taste for science and the erudite mind of its owner/commander, who was also very devout. Indeed, the presence of the Passion instruments inside the lid allows for private contemplation of Christ's sufferings. Intarsia : A mixed process that involves cutting small tesserae and fillets of wood in different shades and inlaying them into cavities cut into the surface of solid walnut. These inlays are glued into the cavities to prevent them from being torn out. The "intarsia" technique is contemporary to that of "certosina", the latter consisting in assembling contrasting geometric motifs using tesserae of wood, horn and bone, partly tinted green. The geometrical shapes on our box can be found on boxes made "alla certosina" in the Venetian workshops of the Embriachi (founder of the Florentine merchant and banker Baldassare Ubriachi). Linear perspective and intarsia in 15th-century Florence The principles of linear perspective were laid down in 1435/36 by architectural theorist Leon Battista Alberti (1404-1472) in his treatise De Pictura, following experiments carried out by Filippo Brunelleschi (1377-1446) during the construction of Florence Cathedral. Thanks to his method of designing urban panoramas using a mirror and a peephole panel, Florentine artists such as Masaccio and Uccello were the first to apply the rules of perspectiva.

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