16th Century Polychromed Casket

A rare late Renaissance limewood casket, rectangular in form, finely decorated on all sides with its original polychrome. The top is richly painted with concentric rectangular bands enclosing stylised floral motifs in red, white, and green, the pigments deriving from bismuth-based preparations typical of Upper Swabia in the late 16th century. Each side panel similarly painted with scrolling floral sprays framed within red borders, the interior retaining traces of its original green ground. The lid with original iron strap-hinges and hasp.
Boxes of this type were produced in Swabia and Bavaria, often in Augsburg workshops, and served both as personal valuables caskets and as betrothal or dowry boxes. Their intricate decoration symbolised prosperity, fertility, and fidelity, making them highly prized domestic and ceremonial objects. Closely comparable painted boxes survive in the Bayerisches Nationalmuseum, Munich, and the Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nuremberg.