Marriage Casket

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Title Marriage Casket

Date 15th century

Medium Wood with gilding and pastiglia

Dimensions Overall: 5 x 8 1/8 x 5 3/8 in. (12.7 x 20.6 x 13.7 cm)

Credit Line Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University

Accession Number 59.52

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About this Work

Small caskets for storing jewelry and personal items were given to brides in northern Italy during the Renaissance. They typically featured reliefs depicting mythological scenes of lovers. Modeled from pastiglia, a paste of white lead and egg white, the relief was adhered to the casket with rabbit skin glue and then gilded. Frequently, a musk scent—considered an aphrodisiac—was also mixed into the paste.

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Provenance research is ongoing for this and many other items in the Eskenazi Museum of Art permanent collection. For more information about the provenance of this artwork, please contact the department curator with specific questions.

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"Marriage Casket | Collections Online." Collections Online. Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University, 2025. https://artmuseum.indiana.edu/collections-online/browse/object.php?number=59.52