A small bone wedding coffer A small bone wedding coffer

The small coffer dates back to about 1370, it has a rectangular plan and it has a wooden core. The lid has a shape of a pyramidal trunk and on it the handle is attached. Both the rectangular container and the lid are completely covered with carved bone parts: the lid has garnished segments that develop horizontally, while the box is covered with figured bone plates, which develop vertically. These tiny and detailed inlays are a typical Italian production that begins after the mid-14th Century, with a workshop that will be defined as "nailed figures" because of the showy copper nails that fix the bone plates. This kind of production will continue until reaching a wide diffusion between the end of the 14th and the beginning of the 15th Century throughout northern Italy thanks to Embriachi's workshops. Our coffer is part of that first production called the “nailed figure workshop”, mostly located in central Italy, which represents the precedent and the model for the Embriachi, from both a structural and technical point of view.

At a certain point in the courtship, the future bride received the small coffer as a gift by the future husband and, to strengthen the imminent family union, two shields were carved on the lid, which were used to house the noble insignia of the spouses, probably painted or applied in metal foil. In this lateral part of the body of the container we find different groups of paired or face-to-face characters, which are engaged in courteous entertainment. The figures are united by a game of glances, where the eyes are a fundamental tool for contemplating the beloved, who's the cause of the restleness of love. We recognize a stylized representation of a shrub in front of two figures, that is attributable to the tree of life, a symbol of birth, regeneration, and vital energy. We can identify a young man, accompanied by a lady, who has a bird resting on his forearm to represent the symbolic falcon hunting, a frequent symbol in the gallant scenes that decorate small coffers of this type. We are talking about the art of domesticating birds of prey to train them to hunt for the benefit of man, therefore a subtle and demanding form of hunting, where aesthetic pleasure counted more than utilitarian motivations: that's why the falconry was well suited to the model of courtly life and was metaphorically linked to courtship and love. On the corners we find carved depictions of different towers, a clear symbol of the lady to be conquered with patience and perseverance, like an impregnable tower with tightly closed shutters and doors defended by soldiers with large shields, but now destined to open and surrender to courtship.