Leather Casket with Scenes of Courtly Love
Unknown Artist
c. 1350–1400
Medium
Leather: embossed, incised; iron mounts; wood core
Dimensions
10.5 × 25.2 × 19 cm
Classification
Leather
Department
Medieval Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
Accession Number
1999.211
About this artwork
During the Middle Ages, small boxes like this were produced for the secular market. Used for storing personal items, the boxes typically consisted of a wood core that might be decoratively painted and gilded or covered with another material, such as ivory or leather. Manufactured in small, highly specialized leather workshops, these richly embellished caskets were valued furnishings in the homes of the aristocratic clientele that commissioned them. On the lid of this box, a couple is shown with ...