Cassone with reliefs of Apollo (two of two)

Unknown (Italian)

Item type:

furniture

Date of creation:

16th century

Height:

70.8 cm  (27 7/8 in.)

Width:

169.2 cm  (66 5/8 in.)

Depth:

5.7 cm  (2 1/4 in.)

Technique / Medium:

walnut

Description

Two scenes, separated by decorative mythological motifs. Left: Apollo's contest with Marsyas, with Marsyas playing a bagpipe and Apollo, seated, holding a lira da braccio and a bow. To the right of Marsyas, two seated Muses look on. Right: Apollo flays Marsyas, who is bound to a tree, from which his bagpipe hangs. An unidentified male figure, possibly a river god, lies in some water at the right, beside Apollo's lira da braccio.

Instruments [MIMO Code] (notes)

Lira da braccio [3181] (Held by Apollo.)
Bagpipe [3746] (Played by Marsyas.)
Lira da braccio [3181] (Scene on right)
Bagpipe [3746] (Scene on right)

Image URLs

image link 1

Bibliographic references

Furniture in The Frick Collection: Italian and French Renaissance, French 18th and 19th Centuries (New York: The Frick Collection, 1992) pt.1, vol. 5.

RIdIM record id

1678