{"product_id":"embossed-brass-casket-box-medieval-revival-figure-scenes-cedar-lined-european-late-19th-early-20th-century","title":"Embossed Brass Jewellery Casket | Medieval Revival Figural Panels | Cedar-Lined Interior | European, Late 19th–Early 20th Century","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eEmbossed Brass Jewellery Casket | Medieval Revival Figural Panels | Cedar-Lined Interior | European, Late 19th–Early 20th Century\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eObjects made to hold things tend to outlast whatever they once held — and in doing so, they become the thing worth keeping.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEmbossed brass caskets of this type were produced across Belgium, France, and Germany from the late nineteenth into the early twentieth century, answering a sustained Victorian and Edwardian appetite for objects that evoked a romanticised medieval past. Neither archaeological nor strictly historical, these pieces belong instead to the broader Medieval Revival — a movement that translated courtly life, chivalric narrative, and Gothic ornament into domestic scale.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eConstructed as a wooden carcass clad in pressed brass sheet, examples of this quality were typically reserved for personal use — jewellery, letters, or small keepsakes — and were often lined in cedar. The use of cedar was both practical and symbolic: valued for its preservative qualities, but also associated with cabinetry of a higher standard. While many such caskets were produced in quantity, the survival of well-preserved, fully clad examples with intact interiors is increasingly less common in the retail market.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe present example is rectangular in form, raised on four small bracket feet, with every exterior surface worked in embossed brass relief. The hinged lid carries the principal scene: a standing male figure leaning toward a reclining female figure set within a formal garden of architectural ruins, foliage, and a shallow arch — a composition drawn directly from the visual language of courtly romance. The surrounding border is densely worked with Gothic arches, beaded roundels, and stylised foliate points.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe four sides continue the decorative programme with framed figural panels depicting robed figures, mounted riders, and architectural settings, interspersed with scrolling ornament. Rope-twist borders divide each scene, with matching twisted detailing to the vertical corner uprights. The underside remains plain, as expected for pieces of this type.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe interior is fully cedar-lined, secured with small brass studs to the lid panel. A maker’s stamp reading ‘LL’ appears to the inner rim, though the workshop remains unidentified — consistent with continental production of this category.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe brass exterior shows a consistent, undisturbed age patina, with natural darkening within the recesses of the relief work, enhancing depth and legibility of the scenes. The cedar interior presents age-related staining and darkening to the base, but remains structurally sound. The hinge operates correctly and closes cleanly.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eGrade: Very Good to Excellent\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMaker: Unidentified (stamp ‘LL’)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eOrigin: Continental Europe (Belgium \/ France \/ Germany)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePeriod: Late 19th–Early 20th Century\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMaterials: Embossed brass over wooden carcass; cedar-lined interior\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eForm: Rectangular casket with hinged lid\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDimensions: L 13.2 cm × W 11 cm × H 7.2 cm\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWeight: 990 g\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMarks: ‘LL’ stamp to inner rim\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCollector Appeal\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFully clad example with continuous figural relief across all panels\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRetains original cedar lining, a feature often lost or replaced\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eStrong, legible Medieval Revival narrative scenes — not purely ornamental banding\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCompact but weighty form, ideal for desk, dressing table, or cabinet display\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIncreasingly scarce in unaltered, unrestored condition with intact patina\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eA box made in the image of the medieval world by people who had never seen it — which is perhaps why it tells us more about the nineteenth century than the fifteenth.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"The Dancing Faun ","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45047666639048,"sku":null,"price":2950.0,"currency_code":"ZAR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0575\/3497\/2104\/files\/rn-image_picker_lib_temp_eae9d07f-686d-4d5d-a27d-b4d9a93adcf5.png?v=1775844140","url":"https:\/\/dancingfaun.co.za\/products\/embossed-brass-casket-box-medieval-revival-figure-scenes-cedar-lined-european-late-19th-early-20th-century","provider":"The Dancing Faun ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}