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Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

Artistic influences come from many different sources. Cross cultural pollination often happens when trade develops. Italy of the Renaissance was well suited for absorbing ideas from around the Mediterranean.

Certosina decoration came from a monastery in the area not far from Venice, the center of Italian trade. In certosina small geometric pieces are shaped and put together in ways that remind one of Islamic architectural motifs.

This chest has the inlay on the inside and outside. I particularly like the three circular motifs on the inside of the top. The outside circles are a series of elaborate concentric rings. The center circle changes it up with a checkerboard pattern.

This chest is in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.

Italian intarsia
1. Fra Giovanni da Verona
2. Antonio Barili self-portrait
3. Intarsia panel
4. Barili saint
5. Certosina chest
6. Certosina
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