About this artwork
This casket, or chest, was conceived as a piece of heavenly architecture. Its contents can be glimpsed through 184 panels of hand-cut rock crystal (quartz). Two panels on the lid are engraved with the Latin phrase BONAE MATRI—VTERE FELIX [To the good Mother—Use it with luck]. According to tradition, Pope Clement VIII employed this and other similar pieces to present blessed linens to the mothers of first-born male children of European royal families.
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Status
- On View, Gallery 206
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Department
- Applied Arts of Europe
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Title
- Casket
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Place
- Venice (Object made in)
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Date
- 1590–1600
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Medium
- Rock crystal, ebony, rosewood, walnut, silver gilt, paint, varnish, and glass
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Dimensions
- 30 × 41 × 31.1 cm (11 3/4 × 16 1/8 × 12 1/4 in.)
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Credit Line
- Kate S. Buckingham Endowment Fund; Paul H. Leffmann and Chester D. Tripp Major Acquisition funds; Mary Waller Langhorne and Harry and Maribel G. Blum endowment funds; Irish Gala and Harry A. Root and Curtis Chapin Palmer European Decorative Arts purchase funds; Gladys N. Anderson Endowment Fund; Richard T. Crane Memorial Fund; Mary Swissler Oldberg Endowment Fund; Decorative Arts Purchase Fund; European Decorative Arts General, Ivan and Jean Plaut, Charles R. Feldstein, General Acquisition, Bessie Bennett, and Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Varley endowment funds; Wendel Fentress Ott Fund
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Reference Number
- 2019.186
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IIIF Manifest
- https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/248927/manifest.json
Extended information about this artwork
Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.