This highly decorated Italian cassettone, or chest of drawers, dates from the second half of the 18th century and is fashioned of walnut, pine, rosewood, ivory, bone and bronze.  Each drawer is inlaid with a vine, bell and floral motif and has a keyhole at its center.  The top row of this chest has two drawers, with two large drawers below.  Along with the floral motif, the large drawers have inlaid birds perched on the vines.  The birds are seen in profile with their heads turned toward the viewer.  A vine-like motif is carved down the vertical wood panel at each corner.  The side panels have a similar vine, bell and floral motif that surround a large bird seen in profile at the center.  The top of the chest has a similar inlaid vine, bell, and floral motif.   A light-skinned mother and child are depicted at the center.  The mother is seated on the ground and is propped on her arms as she leans to our left.  The skirt of her long gown is spread out in a semi-circle on the ground in front of her.  She wears a scarf about her neck that twines down one arm and has flowers in her long, flowing dark hair.  She looks down at the child who is seated on her skirt to our right.  The naked child has tightly curled light hair and looks passively at the viewer.  His arm to our left is outstretched toward his mother’s arm and his other arm is bent with his hand touching his cheek. A graceful urn with a vine cascading downward is visible at the edge of her skirt to our left.  The chest sits on curved cabriole legs.