Box

Unknown

ca. 1651–61 · Walnut, ebony · European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

This carved casket, which may have held documents, bears the arms and the cipher of Henri, marquis de Senneterre (1600–1681), made marshal of France in 1651 by Louis XIV. The casket may have been commissioned by Senneterre to celebrate this appointment. High-relief personifications of Victory support the cartouche with the coat of arms on the lid. Representations of the four elements appear on the front and back; Earth with a cornucopia and Water in the form of a river god with a ship’s rudder flank the marshal’s cipher in front.

Artist

Unknown

Date

ca. 1651–61

Medium

Walnut, ebony

Culture

French

Department

European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

Credit line

Rogers Fund, 1928