Nuptual Chest (Storage Chest). So-called "Cassone" or "Forziere"

In fifteenth-century Florence all affluent couples owned beautifully painted chests for clothes and accessories. On the day of their wedding, these nuptial chests were carried by a procession of people, moving them from the bride’s parents’ house to her new home, where they were placed in the sleeping quarters. The front of such chests were usually decorated by non-religious motifs. This example depicts a story from the early days of Rome. The Romans had abducted the women of a neighbouring tribe, the Sabines, because they needed wives, but the Sabines sought to reclaim their women. The front of this chest shows the Sabine women standing in the gates of Rome, led by Hersilia, who is holding two swords while her father, Tatius, king of the Sabines, and her husband Romulus, first king of Rome, both kneel down as they make peace.