Love and Marriage in Renaissance Florence

Lovely small exhibition at the Courtauld Gallery of Renaissance wedding chests.

Concentrating on their own two gems the chests commissioned by Lorenzo Morelli to celebrate his marriage with Vaggia Nerli. These not only have their accompanying back boards which were placed over the bed but also the documents commissioning them.

The exhibition also looked the practice and role of marriage in Florence at this time. One wonderful chest actually showed wedding chests in use.

My favorite though were the ones of the Queen of Sheba and King Solomon. This reminded me of a miniature version of the Magi chapel in Florence by Gozzoli. It was full of life and rich materials, a real show of wealth.

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