A RARE PAIR OF EARLY 18th CENTURY ITALIAN PAINTED HALL BENCHES, CASSAPANCAS

A RARE PAIR OF EARLY 18th CENTURY ITALIAN PAINTED HALL BENCHES, CASSAPANCAS

Italian, Circa, 1720

Height; 20 in, 51 cm

Width; 88 in, 224 cm

Depth; 16.5 in, 42 cm

Note; Restoration to bottom 70mm on one apron.

Note; A video of these Cassapancas can be found on our Instagram page.

The current pair of benches retain virtually all their original polychrome finish.

These benches did double service—used for seating and for storage. The Italian name, Cassapanca, translates as "chest-bench.”

The Italian Renaissance cassapanca was usually painted in Trompe l'oeil style which is an art form rich in imagery and illusion and gives the appearance of three-dimensional realism. It flourished from the Renaissance onward.

Provenance; Kilmany House, Fife, Scotland

Comparable examples.

The Nelson-Atkins Museum Of Art, Kansas City, Object number 33-178/1

Palazzo de’ Mozzi, Florence, Italy

Christies, European Furniture and Decoration, 15 June 2005 lot 63

Sothebys, Important Mobilier, Objects d’art, Sculpture et Orfèvrerie, 23 June 2021, Lot 10

Price: £18,500