Silvered bronze and malachite jewellery casket

This wonderfully ornate jewellery casket is crafted from silvered bronze in the ornate Baroque style. The casket features a rectangular body with shaped sides, supported by four pierced and scrolled feet and surmounted by a hinged domed lid. The silvered bronze surface of the casket is moulded and finished with a superb array of flowing, foliate forms and Baroque style motifs, such as cherubs, while the four corner edges of the casket are set with winged espagnolettes. The lid, which is surmounted by a finial of a courting couple, lifts to reveal a velvet interior. The body of the casket is inset on occasion with malachite roundels.