Casket: Scenes from the Story of Joseph

This casket is decorated with seven plaques, each of which depicts an episode of the Story of Joseph from the Book of Genesis. Following the biblical text chronologically, the scenes are painted after woodcuts by Bernard Salomon, first published in 1553 in Quadrins historiques de la Bible by Jean de Tournes and in various bibles issued afterward by the same publisher. Because of the clarity of Salomon’s illustrations, the story of Joseph became a recurrent source of inspiration for Limoges enamelers in the second half of the sixteenth century, among them, Pierre Reymond, Jean de Court, Suzanne de Court, and Pierre Courteys, who signed this casket.

Source: Vignon, Charlotte. The Frick Collection Decorative Arts Handbook. New York: The Frick Collection/Scala, 2015.

Frédéric Spitzer, Paris. His sale, April 17–June 16, 1893, 33 rue de Villejust, Paris, Lot 540. J. Pierpont Morgan, London and New York. Duveen. Frick, 1916.

Source: Enamels, Rugs and Silver in The Frick Collection. Volume VIII. New York: The Frick Collection, 1977.