Coffer 1700 - 1720

André Charles Boulle crafted this coffer, a masterful display of marquetry and gilt bronze, during the reign of Louis XIV. Note the recurring motif of the grotesque masks, a common ornament in the decorative arts of the period. These fantastical visages, half-human and half-animal, are descendants of ancient Roman art, where they adorned fountains, theater stages, and triumphal arches. They were believed to ward off evil spirits, and their exaggerated expressions served to both amuse and intimidate. We see echoes of this tradition in the Renaissance, where grotesque masks were revived as playful yet symbolic decorations, embodying the era's fascination with classical antiquity and its interest in the power of the irrational. But the coffer is not merely decorative. It's a repository of cultural memory, tapping into deep-seated fears and desires, reminding us of the enduring human need to confront the unknown through the protective power of images. The grotesque masks thus become vessels of a collective consciousness, embodying both the terror and the allure of the hidden aspects of our nature.