Early medieval book casket

[Book casket].

[c. 1345-1420]. Catalonia, Barcelona. 80 x 198 x 170 mm. Casket on wood covered with moulded and incised leather, fitted with wrought iron mounts, with rosette details, the panel in the centre of the lid and the four sloping sides are all decorated with leafy scrollwork in whorls, three long iron hinge bands enriched with rosettes pass over the box and lid and terminate in front in three hasps, the centre one fitting into a lock plate; one hasp of three once present as per the V&A example, this issue is consistent with other known examples, possibly an attempt to simplify its use, or to modernize,

This is a fine example of a late Medieval or early Renaissance book casket, made to house a book of hours or another type of devotional text, here present in excellent condition and with a fine provenance. 

 

Although many boxes were made during the Middle Ages and Renaissance, some of which were intended for the preservation of books or as messenger boxes, this casket is unequivocally considered to have been made specifically for the purposes of protecting books, as stated in the short description of another example at the V&A: “Leather case with metal mounts for a book of hours; probably Catalan, 1345-1420” (Victoria & Albert Museum catalog entry, 159-1894).

 

Felix de la Fuente Andrés in his ‘Estuches de libro. Analisis funcional de pequenos contenedores’ provides a lengthy explanation of the origin, historical context, and physical description of these boxes, along with a census of known examples; ours bears a strong resemblance to that at the Palazzo Madama, Museo Civico d’Arte Antica.

 

The ´soul´ of the box is made of wood, and is covered in a fine tooled leather, with metal reinforcements and rosette decorations, consistent to the other examples known, all of which differ slightly in aspects of the decoration, the rosettes being a common denominator for the decoration.

 

Regarding its purpose, Felix de la Fuente states “En cuanto a la técnica, el montaje de la estructura guarda mayor relación con el oficio de la encuadernación que con la carpintería, como lo demuestra la ausencia de elementos de ensamblaje, compensada por el forro interior de pergamino y el encorado exterior (nº 14), cosidos y encolados como los libros con cubiertas de tabla. Por tanto, se trata de estuches diseñados para la custodia y el transporte de libros ricos de uso privado, más que de grandes misales de uso litúrgico. Esta hipótesis viene avalada por las referencias de las fuentes primarias al uso de estuches de libros, debido a su altísimo valor, por parte de las élites sociales en los siglos XIV-XV.”

 

Provenance: Jean Coste, 1690, his signature; Ancienne collection Docteur Lucien Graux, Paris, Vente Paris, Hôtel Drouot, Me Mathias, 8 avril 2011, lot 144; Collection of Dr. Alex Brunet, France.

 

de la Fuente Andrés, F. (2016), “Estuches de libro. Análisis funcional de pequeños contenedores”. Además De. Revista on Line De Artes Decorativas Y diseño, 9-46. 

http://www.ademasderevista.com/index.php/ADD/article/view/46/46

[c. 1345-1420]

$20,000.00