Mid-Century Italian Carved Painted Cassapanca Bench Trunk with Crest Motif

$6,900

About

Add Italian visual drama into your home with this elegant and colorful Cassapanca bench. Crafted in Italy, circa 1960, the carved bench features a tall back and apron decorated with intricately scalloped edges. The seating is further embellished with hand painted scroll, acanthus leaf, and shell motifs including a large center medallion featuring a royal coat of arms with wheat, stars, and stacked domes. The seat lifts up and reveals wonderful inside storage. The long and narrow bench is in excellent condition and maintains its beautiful original patinated painted finish in a green, gold, blue, red and yellow palette. Place this lovely bench in a hallway or between two windows for the ultimate lavish Renaissance look. Cassapanca bench; during the Middle Ages, when a cassone or “large chest” was built with a high paneled back, it became known as a Cassapanca, “chest-bench”, which was the forerunner of the sofa. The Italian Renaissance painted Cassapanca, while functioning as piece of furniture, was also a canvas for the exuberant decoration of painters from the Baroque era. These artists would cover the entire surface of the bench and back panel with crests, legendary figures and trompe-l’oeil (French for “fool the eye”). Sometimes called illusionist furniture, this style of painted furniture dates back to the early Renaissance where ceilings, walls, and even furniture was painted to portray three dimensional architectural and sculptural elements. Measures: 87.25″ W x 14″ D x 54.25″ H.

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