Chest of Drawers (Cassettone)
furniture maker
Unknown
Date1750-1799
Place MadeVeneto, Italy, Europe
MediumWalnut, pine, rosewood, and bone with bronze fittings
Dimensions82.9 x 122.8 x 57.9 cm (32 5/8 x 48 3/8 x 22 13/16 in.)
ClassificationsFurniture
Credit LineIsabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
Accession numberF21n2
eMuseum ID729714
Previous Number632
EmbARK ObjectID14478
TMS Source ID3260
Last Updated12/11/24
Status
Not on viewWeb CommentaryThis chest of drawers was made near Venice in the 1700s. Bone inlays decorate the surfaces with peonies, tulips, daffodils, and Eurasian Jays--birds that were first documented in Italy around the 1750s. Isabella Stewart Gardner created intimate environments for viewing art in her galleries by filling them with furniture, in addition to paintings, sculpture, and other objects.
BibliographyNotesGilbert Wendel Longstreet and Morris Carter. General Catalogue (Boston: 1935), p. 179. (probably Italian, early 19th century)
Fausto Calderai and Alan Chong. Furnishing a Museum: Isabella Stewart Gardner’s Collection of Italian Furniture (Boston: 2011), p. 201, no. 87. (2nd half of the 18th century with inlays of the early 19th century)
Melissa Carr, "Conservation Treatment of Chest in Dutch Room," Inside the Collection (blog), Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 10 December 2024, https://www.gardnermuseum.org/blog/conservation-treatment-chest-dutch-room
Fausto Calderai and Alan Chong. Furnishing a Museum: Isabella Stewart Gardner’s Collection of Italian Furniture (Boston: 2011), p. 201, no. 87. (2nd half of the 18th century with inlays of the early 19th century)
Melissa Carr, "Conservation Treatment of Chest in Dutch Room," Inside the Collection (blog), Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 10 December 2024, https://www.gardnermuseum.org/blog/conservation-treatment-chest-dutch-room
ProvenanceNotesProbably purchased by Isabella Stewart Gardner as a set with two nightstands (F21e17) at an unknown date.
