Émile Gallé “Coeur de Jeannette” Coffret

This Renaissance Revival "Coeur de Jeannette" coffret, or small ornamental casket, by Émile Gallé features an elaborate design of fruitwood marquetry on an elmwood structure. The choice of elm reinforces the casket’s romantic imagery: because pruned elm trees traditionally served as living supports for grapevines, the intertwined elm and vine became an enduring symbol of marriage and conjugal devotion, particularly in Renaissance literature. Appropriately intended to hold love letters, the casket has a domed lid secured by ormolu, or finely gilt-bronze, hinges modeled as stylized "grotteschi"—fantastical Renaissance ornaments derived from ancient Roman decoration, here taking the form of two-handled urns. The marquetry continues this language of love and union through a chivalric courtship set within a crepuscular landscape: a young maiden and a troubadour sit upon "Savonarola" chairs, X-shaped seats derived from Italian Renaissance models, as he serenades her with a lyre. Between them, the heart-shaped blossoms of the "Coeur de Jeannette", or bleeding heart, appear to float like musical notes, visually uniting the lovers. The scene is framed by symmetrical carvings resembling rampant, or steeply ascending, Gothic arches, recalling the soaring forms of medieval cathedral architecture and completing Gallé’s romantic evocation of an imagined Renaissance past.