Box

In the late Middle Ages, boxes fastened and secured with leather bands were used to store valuable items. In this way, owners could keep documents, jewellery and other valuable possessions such as medicines away from the grasp and wandering eyes of others. This small chest with its archaic, roof-like lid, which is actually a letter box, is a lovely example of the complex techniques in use at leather workshops in the Upper Rhine region in the 14th century. The craftsmen decorated the leather either by cutting and stamping it or, as is the case here, embossing depictions in relief into either damp leather or leather warmed in linseed oil. The surfaces of the long sides and lid feature mythical creatures each between rosettes and circles. Moreover, to highlight the sculptural appearance, these sections have been worked with an iron punch. (Barbara Til)