Florence Wedding Box 1460 – Victoria & Albert Museum London

Its cylindrical shape and the lavish gilding suggest that it was used for storing an expensive hat or elaborate headdress. Similar gilt gesso decoration was used on cassoni or storage chests made in Italy at the same time.

The decoration is more in keeping with gothic scrolling and heraldry than with the revived interest in classical myths that was one of the hallmarks of the Renaissance.

The wood may have been cheap but the decoration was expensive and the aim no doubt was to enhance the status of the owner.