Wedding Casket attributed to the Embriachi workshop
Bone (or ivory), wood, metal
Italy (Venice)
15th century
Loaned to Saumur, Château - Museum
Inv No. 932.11.144
This casket features a frieze of carved bone plates on its sides, fixed to a wooden core. Couples are depicted in conversation, in codified positions. Under the metal handle, angels hold a shield, on which the couple's coat of arms was painted. This detail indicates that the owners belonged to the nobility.
Based on the characteristics noted during an appraisal by a curator from the Louvre in 2021, this casket has been attributed to the Embriachi workshop.
Very active in Venice in the 15th century, the workshop was named after its founder, Baldassare Ubriachi, (or degli Embriachi), a Florentine banker and trader, who partnered with a sculptor, Giovanni di Jacopo. The renowned workshop produced monumental altarpieces, but also triptychs and various types of precious caskets which were highly prized by the wealthy. Their works were found throughout Europe, as evidenced by the triptych commissioned by John, Duke of Berry, for the Abbey at Poissy (it can be seen at the Louvre), or that of the Abbey of Cluny (held at the MET in New York).
They used a unique technique: all the works were made from plates of bovine or equine bone. This looked very similar to ivory but, since it was locally available, there were no supply difficulties. The plates were assembled and mounted in casings called alla certosina (polychrome marquetry using wood partially stained green, horn and bone).
Two sorts of wedding caskets were produced using this technique. Some depicted a story involving famous couples from Antiquity with whom the future bride and groom could identify. Others portrayed anonymous couples (as is the case with our casket), in various symbolic postures (embracing or with their hands placed on a swollen stomach for example).
In northern Italy in the 15th century, the wedding casket was a binding gift a fiancé would offer his future wife. It might contain other equally symbolic gifts (like a special belt to symbolise chastity), but also jewellery, perfumed gloves or silks.
More generally, the wedding caskets attributed to the Embriachi workshop were emblems of married life and showcased its values: fidelity and a sense of honour and family.