Some things reveal their history not through what is perfect about them, but through what is not – like this small golden casket, whose lines don't quite align.
The wooden casket is primed with gesso and gilded by hand, in the classic style of the so-called "Florentine casket": a rectangular box on four small, curved cabriole feet, with a gently wavy edge on the lid and base. Both the lid and the bottom display a fine diamond pattern, alternating in gold and silver-gray, each diamond with a tiny embossed flower in the center, complemented by small turquoise dabs of color at the intersections.
An honest note on origin: The embossing and gilding are noticeably less precise and symmetrical than with industrially manufactured Florentine caskets. This could be an older or simpler production piece – but just as well a truly handmade unique item: a school project, a journeyman's piece, a homemade gift. We don't know, and we prefer to be honest about it rather than inventing a story. For the same reason, we refrain from giving a specific age: there is no manufacturer's mark or sticker, and the Florentine gilding style has been produced almost unchanged for many decades.
Dimensions
- Length: approx. 18 cm
- Width: approx. 10 cm
- Height: approx. 5 cm
Condition: Significantly used and visibly loved. The gilding is noticeably worn at the edges, corners, and foot tips, in places the white gesso/chalk ground shines through; small gaps at the hinge; slight scratches and individual darker spots on the underside. The lid opens and closes perfectly, the red velvet lining inside is clean and fully preserved.
A pretty little jewelry box or a home for rings and small treasures – with character precisely because it is not perfect. Price is for 1 piece.
Found at a flea market in St. Pölten – one of the few pieces there that no one could quite explain. The pattern doesn't quite align, the gilding runs a little off in some places, and there's no signature, no label, nothing to say who made it or why. Perhaps a student practicing for an exam. Perhaps a first attempt to make someone a gift. Perhaps just someone who once wanted to make something beautiful – and almost got there. Imperfect things are rarely kept for so long and so carefully; someone still found them worth preserving.
Not perfect. Still preserved — Things with a soul · VintageAustriaShop
