Rectangular box, circa 1600, Nürnberg.

This box is made of engraved brass, the corner frames of engraved copper.

The key in the shape of a trefoil.

Depicted on the front, top and back a love couple walking towards each other, in period clothing.

Depicted on the left side a man and on the right side a woman.

On the bottom a landscape with a town, a mill and a deer. On four ball feet.

The top keyhole hidden behind a sliding engraved brass plate.

The box can be carried on a hanger. On the inside an ingenious lock plate.

This type of small box provide a safe place to keep valuables and were often given as wedding gifts.

This miniature chest has been attributed to Mich(e)l Mann. He was born between 1560 and 1570, probably near Augsburg, Germany.

His father was a knife maker. He had two sons, Mich(e)l and Conrad. On Jan. 29,1589 Mich(e)l received permission to marry from the Augsburg authorities, and on Feb. 19,1589 he was granted the right to work as a locksmith by his wife's father, Sebastian Rempf, a locksmith by trade.

Nothing is known about Mich(e)l Mann after 1616. Not much is known about his brother Conrad either, only that he spent time abroad.

Archives and sources still mention work, which Mich(e)l Mann made in Nuremberg, Fürth and Augsburg, but it is not known whether he owned a workshop in those places.

Provenance:

Kunstkammer Georg Laue, Munich.

Private collection Netherlands.

Literature:

Prunk-Kassetten, meisterwerke als der Hanns Schell Collection by Ewald Berger, p. 128, fig. 103.