cassone

In Renaissance Italy, a wooden marriage chest used for storing garments, documents, and valuables. Pairs of cassoni were made for bridal trousseaux, with one bearing the husband's armorial and the other that of the bride. Richly adorned and often painted, some are among the finest examples of Renaissance craftsmanship.

Early examples have painted panels depicting Roman triumphs and battles, and, in northern Italy, religious subjects. Others had gilded carving and intarsia decoration. Mannerist influences later introduced carved and polished wood versions of antique sarcophagi on lion-paw supports.

A variant on the cassone was the casapanca, to which a back and arms were added, enabling the piece to double as a storage chest and a seat.