Italian, Venice
Chest for Laces (Cofano), 18th century
Chest: wood, silk velvet, silk with tuffs, bronze fittings; Base: gilded cirmolo, 28 7/8 x 26 1/8 x 19 5/16 in. (73.3 x 66.4 x 49 cm)
This rectangular chest has a fall front and a hinged top that opens to display a tray with two sliding shelves below. These sections and the inside cover are upholstered with white silk and small blue silk tufts. The front of the tray is painted with blue vines. The front and top close with a bronze pin and lock. The outside of the piece is covered with a red silk cut-velvet in a stylized floral pattern. This chest seems to have been designed to store delicate textiles, such as laces. The chest has a gilded wood base carved with foliage and scrolls and punched in the flat surfaces. The base stands on curved and scrolling feet.
Titian Room
Commentary
This chest has a fall front and a hinged top that close with a pin and lock. These two sections open to reveal a tray with two sliding shelves below. These sections and the inside cover are lined with white silk and small blue tufts. The front of the tray is painted with blue vines. This box seems designed to store delicate textiles, perhaps laces or silks. The exterior of the piece is covered with a red cut-velvet made of silk which was probably made in Iran in the late seventeenth century or eighteenth century.
The chest fits into a gilded wood base carved with foliage and scrolls, edged with rocaille motifs, and punched in the flat surfaces.
The chest fits into a gilded wood base carved with foliage and scrolls, edged with rocaille motifs, and punched in the flat surfaces.