Italian wooden chest covered in silk and decorated with gilded cast metal plaques. Possibly Venetian. First half of ...

Italian wooden chest covered in silk and decorated with gilded cast metal plaques. Possibly Venetian. First half of the 14th century.
8,5 x 25 x 14,5 cm.
Oak wood box decorated with plaques of cast and gilded pewter on a pink silk base.
The edge has a delicate border of four-lobed motifs, with ivy leaves and berries inside, with a central rose, and in the corners are ribbed leaves. The lid is decorated with two large geometric roses with fleurons and ivy leaves in a frame with medallions which surround griffins, dragons, eagles and other fantastical animals. The handle, which is mobile, is made of gilded bronze and ends in a dragon’s head at each side, with a rhomboidal knot in the centre and two ivory beads, which also adorn the corners of the chest. The lock is made of wrought iron and the lid and base are fringed with silk tassels.
It rests on four gilded bronze, spherical feet.