The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 19, 2024

Boncompagni-Ludovisi-Ottoboni Marriage Casket

Boncompagni-Ludovisi-Ottoboni Marriage Casket

1731
silver, partially gilt, malachite, lapis lazuli, enamel
Overall: 19.1 x 40.7 x 22.9 cm (7 1/2 x 16 x 9 in.)
John L. Severance Fund 1974.86
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

The Latin inscription on this marriage casket, "amor gignit amorem," means "love begets love," an appropriate prediction for an impending union.

Description

The giving of coins or other valuable items was a powerful symbol of engagement and marriage in Europe in the 1600s and 1700s. Often these valuables were presented and kept in elaborate caskets that remained the property of the wife throughout the marriage, to be drawn upon in time of need, or as a symbol of their wealth and prosperity. This silver and hardstone casket was the gift of Pier Gregorio Boncompagni Ludovisi upon his marriage to Francesca Ottoboni in 1731. Their marriage represented the merger of two very powerful Italian noble families—the Boncompagni Ludovisi from Bologna and the Ottoboni from Venice. Both families had settled in Rome in the 17th century, and each were closely aligned with the papacy, having produced numerous cardinals and popes. Appropriately adorned with scenes from the myth of Cupid and Psyche, in which the two lovers work to overcome obstacles to their marriage, the casket is a masterwork of Roman silversmithing in the Baroque taste prevalent at that time throughout Europe.
  • Commissioned by Cardinal Pietro Ottoboni (1667-1740); his niece Maria Francesca Ottoboni and her husband, Pier Gregorio Boncompagni-Ludovisi, in 1731.
  • Lee, Sherman E. “The Year in Review for 1974.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 62, no. 3 (March 1975): 62–102. Reproduced: p. 75; mentioned: p. 98, no. 37 www.jstor.org
    Hawley, Henry H. “The Boncompagni-Ludovisi-Ottoboni Casket.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 62, no. 7 (September 1975): 219–228. Reproduced: p. 218, 220-224, cover; Mentioned: p. 219-228 www.jstor.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. reproduced P 140 archive.org
    Walker, Stefanie, and Frederick Hammond, eds. Life and the Arts in the Baroque Palaces of Rome: Ambiente Barocco. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1999. mentioned P 146, cat. no. 25 library.clevelandart.org
    Olszewski, Edward J. "The Enlightened Patronage of Cardinal Pietro Ottobini (1667-1740)." Artibus et Historiae 23, no. 45 (2002): 139-165. mentioned P 155 1483685
    Olszewski, Edward J. “Liturgical Silver Commissioned by Cardinal Pietro Ottoboni (1667-1740).” Cleveland Studies in the History of Art 8 (2003): 96–119. Mentioned: p. 109-113; reproduced: p. 96, fig.1, p. 110-112, fig. 17-20 www.jstor.org
    Olszewski, Edward J. The Inventory of Paintings of Cardinal Pietro Ottoboni (1667-1740). New York: Peter Lang, 2004. mentioned P 302 library.clevelandart.org
    Olszewski, Edward J. Cardinal Pietro Ottoboni (1667-1740) and the Vatican Tomb of Pope Alexander VIII. Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, 2004. mentioned P 57 library.clevelandart.org
  • Art of the Royal Court: Treasures in Pietre Dure from the Palaces of Europe. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY (organizer) (July 1-September 21, 2008).
    Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC (7/1/2008 - 9/21/2008): "Art of the Royal Court: Treasures in Pietre Dure from the Palaces of Europe"
    Life and the Arts in the Baroque Palaces of Rome: Ambiente Barocco. Bard Graduate Center: Decorative Arts, Design History, Material Culture, New York, NY (organizer) (March 10-June 13, 1999); The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO (July 21-October 3, 1999).
    Life and the Arts in the Baroque Palaces of Rome: Ambiente Barocco. The Bard Graduate Center for Studies in the Decorative Arts, New York, 10 March-13 June, 1999; The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 21 July-3 October, 1999. Exh. cat. edited by Stefanie Walker and Frederick Hammond (New York, Yale University Press), exh. cat. no. 25, p. 146
    All That Glitters: Great Silver Vessels in Cleveland's Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 23, 1994-January 8, 1995).
    Year in Review: 1974. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 11-April 6, 1975).
  • {{cite web|title=Boncompagni-Ludovisi-Ottoboni Marriage Casket|url=false|author=|year=1731|access-date=19 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1974.86