Italian, Florence
Bench Chest with Back (Cassapanca con schienale), late 19th century
Walnut, poplar, and pine, 174 x 196 x 53.5 cm (68 1/2 x 77 3/16 x 21 1/16 in.)
This vertical Italian bench chest with a back is made of walnut, poplar, and pine. It sits on a round-edged platform that is larger than the base of the chest and back. The chest has molding around the bottom and a slight bulge marked by horizontal edging. In the middle two-thirds of the top of the chest there is a lid. The back is somewhat wider and much taller than the chest, with columns at the sides and a cornice at the top. There is little decoration, except for leaves at the top of the columns, light carving in a strip between the leaves and in a horizontal band above, and some horizontal beading and dentil molding in the area above the leaves and at the cornice. The back has significant cracking.
Dutch Room
Commentary
This piece of furniture is an invention of the late 19th century, made to deceive unsuspecting collectors into thinking they were buying a Renaissance object. Most collectors, including Isabella Gardner, were taken in by these forgeries which combine Renaissance-era fragments with newer wood.