{"meta":{"version":"2.1","_links":{"self":{"href":"https://api.vam.ac.uk/v2/object/O125819"},"collection_page":{"href":"https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O125819/"}},"images":{"_primary_thumbnail":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2009CC5600/full/!100,100/0/default.jpg","_iiif_image":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2009CC5600/","_alt_iiif_image":[],"imageResolution":"high","_images_meta":[{"assetRef":"2009CC5600","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2009CC5603","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2009CC5602","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2009CC5601","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2009CC5599","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false}]},"see_also":{"_iiif_pres":"https://iiif.vam.ac.uk/collections/O125819/manifest.json","_alt_iiif_pres":[]}},"record":{"systemNumber":"O125819","accessionNumber":"230-1889","objectType":"Coffret","titles":[],"summaryDescription":"A casket is a small box for valuables, itself often richly ornamented. Caskets were of great importance for the storage of household goods, but were also valued by medieval travellers who frequently carried with them a major portion of their possessions. For this purpose, containers of a wide variety of shapes and sizes existed. Iron caskets provided a great measure of security but, because of their weight, were not easily portable. Therefore caskets of wood, covered with leather or other material and bound with iron, were more common. \r\n\r\nDuring the Medieval period, love-gifts to a future bride or between a couple were sometimes presented in caskets, and the love inscriptions and scenes of courtship worked in the leather on this casket suggest that it was used in this way. The figures of a lady and a gentleman are shown among flowers and borders of ribbons twisted around branches. On the lid are two figures of knights mounted on griffins, and two naked figures armed with clubs and shields. The meaning may be that the donor/suitor intends, like the honourable knights, to vanquish bestial desire. Chretien de Troyes (writing in the late 12th century) has Yvain, the hero tell his beloved ‘Lady, you carry the key/ and have the casket  in which my happiness / is locked’, making explicit the idea that a casket could itself carry symbolic meaning, as well as serving as a practical container for a special occasion.","physicalDescription":"Casket with key. Wood, rectangular, with arched lid, covered with leather incised, coloured and gilt. On the front are seen standing figures of a lady and a gentleman in panels enclosed by flowers and borders of ribbons twisted around branches. On the sides are flowers, ribbons and various ornamental borders. On the lid are two figures of baladins [paladin, knight errant, one of the Twelve peers of Charlamagne's court, of the Court Palatine was the chief] mounted on griffins, two naked men with clubs and shields, two images of the sun, together with flowers and ribbons, and the legend in Gothic letters, \"du bon du [representation of a heart]\". At the back are the words \" mon [representation of a heart] aves\". The meaning is that the knight proceeds \"du bon du coeur\" to deliver the lady who is the captive of wild men or sorcerers, and who calls to him \"mon coeur (vous) avez\" or \" mon coeur ayez\". Iron handles, lock and key.\r\n\r\nObservations on construction\r\nThe oak carcase (planed planks) is nailed together, with the base sitting between the front and back boards, and running underneath the end boards. Pieces of thin leather cut to size appear to have been glued (starting 1-2cm over the inner face of each board at the top) over the exterior and then underneath, without any attempt to cover the underside neatly; thicker leather pieces on which the design is worked have been glued over the top and around the corners, but not over awkward joints. Internally, the residue of a textile lining (and weave pattern) is visible after the textile itself has been removed. The curved lid is carved from a solid plank, the underside ends built up with thicknesses of leather, possibly with internal wood stiffeners. The lid is held on two wrought iron hinges fitting into a crude mortice and each element nailed with a single clinched nail; the lock hasp is fitted in the same way. The handle (offset from the centre) is held on two nails. The lock seems old but may be a replacement for a larger one (though there are no old fixing holes visible??).\r\n\r\nThe cutting of the leather for the figures is highly accomplished, while the ornamental details are irregular (and were presumably cut at speed). Some cuts run right down to the wood. Pigments (red, white, green and gold) seems to have been painted on (in some cases directly onto the wood?), and the original scheme would have been very bold. There is a lot now missing.\r\n\r\nShellac covering probably dates to 1960s. \r\n\r\nEDXRF analysis (October 2006) by Dr Lucia Burgio:\r\nRed, white and green  paint traces on various areas of the coffret were analysed non-destructively by EDXRF.  The elements found (mercury, lead and copper) are in agreement with the use of traditional pigments such as vermilion, lead white and a copper-based green. No metals suggesting the presence of modern pigments (such as cadmium, chromium, titanium and zinc) were detected.\r\n\r\nCostume \r\nMan's long hanging sleeves and cap","artistMakerPerson":[{"name":{"text":"Unknown","id":"A1848"},"association":{"text":"","id":""},"note":""}],"artistMakerOrganisations":[],"artistMakerPeople":[],"materials":[{"text":"leather","id":"AAT11845"},{"text":"oak","id":"AAT12264"}],"techniques":[{"text":"moulding","id":"x46876"}],"materialsAndTechniques":"Oak, covered with painted leather with iron fittings, moulding","categories":[{"text":"Woodwork","id":"THES48877"},{"text":"Containers","id":"THES48972"},{"text":"Marriage","id":"THES48921"},{"text":"Medieval and renaissance","id":"THES271264"},{"text":"Leather","id":"THES49030"}],"styles":[],"collectionCode":{"text":"FWK","id":"THES48597"},"images":["2009CC5600","2009CC5603","2009CC5602","2009CC5601","2009CC5599"],"imageResolution":"high","galleryLocations":[{"current":{"text":"10A","id":"THES49098"},"free":"","case":"2","shelf":"","box":""},{"current":{"text":"10A","id":"THES49098"},"free":"","case":"2","shelf":"","box":""}],"partTypes":[[{"text":"Coffret","id":""}],[{"text":"Key","id":""}]],"contentWarnings":[{"apprise":"No","note":""},{"apprise":"","note":""},{"apprise":"","note":""}],"placesOfOrigin":[{"place":{"text":"France","id":"x28849"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":""}],"productionDates":[{"date":{"text":"1300-1400","earliest":"1300-01-01","latest":"1400-12-31"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":""}],"associatedObjects":[],"creditLine":"","dimensions":[{"dimension":"Height","value":"20.7","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""},{"dimension":"Width","value":"31.8","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""},{"dimension":"Depth","value":"18","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""}],"dimensionsNote":"Measured for the Medieval and Renaissance Galleries","marksAndInscriptions":[{"content":"du bon du [representation of a heart]","inscriber":{"name":{"text":"","id":""},"association":{"text":"","id":""}},"date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"description":"","interpretation":"","language":"","medium":"","method":"","position":"","script":"","translation":"from the good of my heart, or perhaps 'from a good heart'\r\n'du bon coeur' tends to mean 'good willing' or 'with eagerness'","transliteration":"","type":"","note":"On the lid. W.A. Thorpe suggested that the meaning may be that the knight proceeds \"du bon du coeur\" to deliver the lady who is the captive of wild figures or sorcerers, and who calls to him \"mon coeur (vous) avez\" or \"mon coeur ayez\"."},{"content":"mon [representation of a heart] aves","inscriber":{"name":{"text":"","id":""},"association":{"text":"","id":""}},"date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"description":"","interpretation":"","language":"","medium":"","method":"","position":"","script":"","translation":"you have my heart","transliteration":"","type":"","note":"At the back"}],"objectHistory":"Received from Rollin & Feuardent (61 Great Russell St, London) from the sale of the Odiot Collection at Paris in April 1889. Three objects were purchased (229 to 231-1889.) The minute for approval to bid at the sale - RP/1889/2727 - has not survived but there is a general paper for the purchases at the sale - RP/1889/3718 - & this is on the Rollin & fueardent Nominal file (MA/1/R1475).\r\nAdiot collection (lot 107) £50-18-6\r\n\r\nA small coffer for jewels or other valuables was known as a casket or coffret (from the French, a small coffre or chest). Such small boxes made of wood covered with leather were often decorated with elaborate decorated and embossed scenes. A notable example of this is the Talbot casket in the British Museum (1977, 5-2,1), made in northern France or Flanders.\r\n\r\nVarious comparable caskets with rounded lids, and decorated and painted leather have been published, usually attributed German, c.1500, see for example Günter Gall, Leder im Europäischen Kunsthandwerk, Braunschweig 1965, nos. 93 (Metropolitan Museum), and 95.\r\np.127-8 Gall suggests that \"on the lids there are usually Birth-scenes, while the front and the back of the lid show the annunciation and the annunciation to the shepherds. In addition to this, there often is the very similar lock with the snake as a clasp, which is also repeated on the handle of the lid. Even more relevant is the common understanding of the relief with the slight rise on the plane without a sharp delineation through a cut-line. Considering the number of pieces of this kind, they were perhaps commodities, as the coats of arms are mostly not filled in. After the sale, the buyer could have then had his own crest painted onto it. Works of this type are kept in the Metropolitan Museum in NY, Hamburger Museum fuer Kunst und Gewerbe, the Germanische Nationalmuseum in Nuremberg, the Museum for Leathercraft in London and obviously in the Deutsche Ledermuseum in Offenbach (fig. 93, 94, 95). With the pieces in Nuremberg and Offenbach a common workshop can be assumed, the others only reveal a general relationship dictated by time and nationality. These works must have all originated in Germany around 1500. They differ from the French works with the clear line, the less exact arrangement and the softer rise of the relief.\"","historicalContext":"","briefDescription":"Coffret with key. Wood, rectangular, with arched lid, covered with leather incised, coloured and gilt","bibliographicReferences":[],"production":"","productionType":{"text":"","id":""},"contentDescription":"","contentPlaces":[],"associatedPlaces":[],"contentPerson":[],"associatedPerson":[],"contentOrganisations":[],"associatedOrganisations":[],"contentPeople":[],"associatedPeople":[],"contentEvents":[],"associatedEvents":[],"contentOthers":[],"contentConcepts":[],"contentLiteraryRefs":[],"galleryLabels":[],"partNumbers":["230:1-1889","230:2-1889"],"accessionNumberNum":"230","accessionNumberPrefix":"","accessionYear":1889,"otherNumbers":[],"copyNumber":"","aspects":["WHOLE","Coffret","Key"],"assets":["2019LN8975","2019LU6472","2019LV1307"],"recordModificationDate":"2025-04-16","recordCreationDate":"2006-07-10","availableToBook":false}}