Cassone

This carved and gilded wooden cassone is an example of the wedding chests which the wealthier families commissioned from the finest artists and craftsmen. Intended to contain the bridal trousseau, they were sometimes even borne about the streets of the city to be admired as symbols of social prestige. The two tondi painted in tempera are by Bartolomeo Montagna. The favourite subjects for these cassoni were generally scenes of nuptial festivities or processions or, as here, events which evoked love between husband and wife and women virtue. On the left we see the Roman consul Duilius and his virtuous bride Bilia. On the right there is the Vestal Virgin Tuccia: accused of having broken her vow of chastity, she demonstrated her innocence by carrying water in a sieve.
The coat of arms in the middle, with a rampant bear, might be of the Buri family of Verona.