14/05/2026
After four weeks of playing studio assistant to Cara it's now back to the day job....
So here, an absolutely wonderful large North Italian Alto Adige Cypress and Cedar Wood Pen and Poker-Work Cassone Early 17th Century.
When every panel tells a story.
A glorious new arrival - At Griffin Mill this week 🌹
Intaglio carving is a feature of furniture of the northern Italian Alpine region that was popular in the 16th and early 17th centuries, traditionally associated with the area around the Adige River. The technique of flat, incised decoration with inked scenes against a cut away, punched background, often depicted Biblical, literary, and historical scenes accompanied by animals and mythical beasts. Pieces were typically made of cedar or cypress due to their relative softness for ease of carving, but also for their warm colour and scent, which was a deterrent to moth and worm damage. Chests and boxes made of cypress and cedar were useful for storing valuable textiles, and period inventories throughout Europe record them, indicating that they were desirable objects and traded far outside their region of origin.
