Posted 9 years ago
Anderlee
(1 item)
For whom was this antique (Renaissance?) solid wood chest made and for what purpose? My family called it the Pope's chest. It occupied an inauspicious place in my grandmother's house, had plants on it (!) in the corner behind a chair. I believe it was collected by wealthy New York ancestors probably on travels to Europe in the 19th century. They were one among the gilded families who summered in Newport, RI and traveled to Europe annually. 34x20x20 inches. Carved in wood, you see a bishop or pope on one end and a crowned figure on the other. Could they be actual likenesses? Lined with what we think is lead. Very heavy. Anybody?
http://revelationnow.net/wp-content/gallery/coat_of_arms_decoded/code_of_arms_decoded.jpg
Interesting chest. the above link should explain the symbols of the vatican coat of arms.
I'll look a little further for the bust images displayed ,I would imagine, the images of a king on one side and the bishop or pope which served during his reign .Much luck and thanks for the post.
Thanks Drill: Found a website with some Pope coats of arms through history too! Now to find one coat of arms with dolphins cavorting. May be a bigger search. Could it be a souvenir or commemorative object of a visit to the vatican at the time of that pope (and king), not a possession of that particular pope.
Much speculation and S.W.A.G. principle being used on this one (Scientific Wild Ass Guessing) Interesting symbolism with the cross sword and battle axe under the king. Typical knights templar symbol- for sentinel =(sword), battle axe =(Guard)
Fleur de lis on the shield seen used by the swiss, english ,french and (Scots of Glasgow- was the only fish used in crested symbol I could find)Although many men of the cloth are considered fisher's of men.
The cross keys represent St. Peter's keys to the golden gate of heaven.
The gold key- alludes to the power in the kingdom of heaven.
The silver key- alludes to the spiritual authority of papacy on earth.
The binding cord or ribbon -represent the binding and loosing-simply meaning to
forbid by an indisputable authority,and to permit by the same indisputable authority. I searched for kings and popes of the same era with the likenesses of
the carved pictures presented. There were a few candidates for these. It is difficult to
match the papal Tiara (The ceremonial pope headdress,Goggle: papal tiara) as there are only 22 authentic ones left in existence.All are similar yet very different, They all have 3 levels of gold and jewels on them representing- ,Supreme pastor, supreme teacher, supreme priest .The headdress may be the best way to identify the subject.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/07/Papa_Urbanus_Quintus.jpg/220px-Papa_Urbanus_Quintus.jpg
Pope Urban V papacy 1362 to 1370 was the closest likeness to the carving I could find. The king that I found with a possible likeness having served in the same time period was Charles the V crowned 1364. (both of these being pure speculation but good fun searching around the net.)Both with long histories to plentiful to divulge.
http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6087/2925/320/philip1france.jpg
The chest is surely not from that time period ,Wouldn't it be a hoot if it
was owned by a knights templar, swiss papal guard, Knight of columbus or some other who swore allegiance to a religious ideal,I.E. priest/bishop etc..Again much
luck and thanks for the fun searching around.
I would search under- (heraldic dolphins) appearing as early as the 13th century.You just might find some familiar family
names,and places. Incidently- you won't find many with these type of carvings out there. If It were mine,I would get a professional opinion ,and appraisal on this one,you never know.
http://www.sacred-texts.com/lcr/fsca/img/26800.jpg
OMG! Amazing!