Thanks for your patience during our recent outage at scalar.usc.edu. While Scalar content is loading normally now, saving is still slow, and Scalar's 'additional metadata' features have been disabled, which may interfere with features like timelines and maps that depend on metadata. This also means that saving a page or media item will remove its additional metadata. If this occurs, you can use the 'All versions' link at the bottom of the page to restore the earlier version. We are continuing to troubleshoot, and will provide further updates as needed. Note that this only affects Scalar projects at scalar.usc.edu, and not those hosted elsewhere.
Exhibiting Historical Art: Out of the Vault: Stories of People and ThingsMain MenuWorld MapClick pins to learn more about the object that originated thereTimelinePre-Columbian Gold Headband800 A.D. - 1500 A.D.Gold Eagle PendantsSepik River Headrest20th centuryStatue of Saint Barbara17th century France, polychromed wood, artist unknownCabinet door from the Imperial Palace of Beijing with Imperial DragonChen Youzhang, 1755Bronze LampHead of John the BaptistLauren Linquest, '19Ida Rubenstein, 1909 Sculpture by Jo DavidsonCassone ChestWater-Carrier Vase with Bamboo Pattern and BambooLenore Vanderkooi, 1996Lotus Flowers in a Wood VaseRevolutions Per Minute: The Art RecordOpening page
It is probable that the chest on display is a pastiche—a compilation of pieces from various time periods. Throughout the sixteenth century, the popularity of cassoni waned; however, during the nineteenth century, the chests became fashionable again. William Bundell Spence, a prominent English collector, generated widespread taste for them among European collectors. At that time, many capricious collectors purchased pieces of doubtful origin. Due to the poor condition of most original cassoni, artisans dismantled them and inserted the painted panels into new chests in order to appeal to Victorian buyers. Many cassoni displayed in museums today, such asthis chestowned by the Mount Holyoke College Art Museum andthis chestfrom the Bagatti Valsecchi Museum in Italy, were constructed in this fashion, but resemble authentic Renaissance pieces to the untrained eye. Although the chest in the Vanderbilt collection is not painted, it is possible that it was also constructed in this manner during the nineteenth century when cassoni reached the height of their popularity.
It is also possible that the chest was created after World War II, when Italian artisans combined elements of destroyed buildings and furniture into new pieces, which were passed off as authentic antiques to unsuspecting tourists.
No matter when or how the pastiche was created, this alternative history for the chest explains the the inconsistencies in its condition.