Minneapolis Institute of Art

Cassone (chest)

Italy

Date

15th century

Medium

Walnut inlaid with other woods

Department

European Art

Institution

Minneapolis Institute of Art

After the fall of Constantinople to the Turks in 1453, commercial powers in Italy, like the Republic of Venice, were forced to come to peace terms in order to maintain their influence over the Mediterranean. As a result, trade and diplomatic contact increased between Italy and the Middle East. Unlike some other Muslim empires, the Ottomans rejected the representation of living beings in their art. Geometric designs began to proliferate in Italy thanks to their imported goods. This Italian lidded chest ( cassone ) uses the technique of intarsia (a mosaic of inlayed wood), and its abstract motifs were probably inspired by carpets from the Muslim world. Europe

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