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Author Topic: Antique coin cabinet with carved roman imagery  (Read 11173 times)

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Offline Sosius

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Antique coin cabinet with carved roman imagery
« on: February 19, 2014, 11:02:44 am »
It could be said with more than a grain of truth that I sometimes like my coin cabinets more than my coins.  Well, I recently bought a cabinet that has me very excited.  It's a mahogany, dovetailed cabinet measuring about 15x8x10".  The doors are carved with imagery from the reverses of Roman coins.  The door is a later addition to the cabinet, and not mahogany, but it's the clincher for me.  I love that someone spent the time to carve these classic images into the cabinet.  The cabinet needs a little TLC, but is still quite solid.

Let me know if I am mistaken, but the carved deities appear to be: 

Row I: Venus, Diana, Athena?, Juno
Row II: Liberalitas, Annona?, Victory, Felicitas

Thanks for looking,
Sosius

Sosius

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Offline Nemonater

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Re: Antique coin cabinet with carved roman imagery
« Reply #1 on: February 19, 2014, 11:05:31 am »
That is awesome, great find!

Offline Mat

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Re: Antique coin cabinet with carved roman imagery
« Reply #2 on: February 19, 2014, 11:13:38 am »
That really is cool. Much better then run of the mill ones. Lucky!
MY GALLERY

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Offline Molinari

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Re: Antique coin cabinet with carved roman imagery
« Reply #3 on: February 19, 2014, 11:14:42 am »
Wow, fantastic cabinet!  I love it!

Offline Arados

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Re: Antique coin cabinet with carved roman imagery
« Reply #4 on: February 19, 2014, 11:21:00 am »
A wonderfully cabinet Sosius, i really admire the work that went into the carving of the various deity.  +++

Offline Andrew McCabe

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Re: Antique coin cabinet with carved roman imagery
« Reply #5 on: February 19, 2014, 11:43:21 am »
It could be said with more than a grain of truth that I sometimes like my coin cabinets more than my coins.  Well, I recently bought a cabinet that has me very excited.  It's a mahogany, dovetailed cabinet measuring about 15x8x10".  The doors are carved with imagery from the reverses of Roman coins.  The door is a later addition to the cabinet, and not mahogany, but it's the clincher for me.  I love that someone spent the time to carve these classic images into the cabinet.  The cabinet needs a little TLC, but is still quite solid.

 +++

Echoing the praise of others, really wonderful. I don't think anyone has shown such as nice cabinet on here before (a challenge...)

Offline Sosius

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Re: Antique coin cabinet with carved roman imagery
« Reply #6 on: February 19, 2014, 02:39:28 pm »
Thanks, Nemonator, Mat, Molinari, Arados and Andrew!  It'll be fun to restore.  Until then, it'll sit in my living room as an objet d'art.  I just might have to go out and buy another 622 coins to properly fill it!  ;)
Sosius

My Gallery: https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/index.php?cat=24203
650+ coins and about 2/3 done--I have a coin problem

Offline OldMoney

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Re: Antique coin cabinet with carved roman imagery
« Reply #7 on: February 19, 2014, 08:47:57 pm »
It could be said with more than a grain of truth that I sometimes like my coin cabinets more than my coins. . .

Echoing the praise of others, really wonderful. I don't think anyone has shown such as nice cabinet on here before (a challenge...)

There are some absolutely wonderful cabinets out there, and I am
very fond of some of the marvelously elaborate 18th-19th century ones.

This is not my cabinet, but one that belonging to a fabulous institution:

[BROKEN IMAGE LINK REMOVED BY ADMIN]

The design, colour, detail, execution and overall aesthetic really strikes
me viscerally, and is truly a masterpiece of the cabinet maker's art.

The columns open centrally to reveal the trays, plus there is a drawer
at the base for other items (eg: documents, larger pieces, etc.).

Some of you may have been lucky enough to have seen this before.
There are some who will recognise this and know immediately where
it is from, but I want to throw out a 'quiz' of sorts.

Can you guess where it now resides?

To those who "know", please give others a brief chance to answer.

Have fun!

Walter Holt
Coins of Ephesus
https://groups.yahoo.com/group/ephesuscoins
Walter Holt's Old Money - Ancient Coins
https://www.oldmoney.com.au
Sydney, Australia

Offline Nemonater

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Re: Antique coin cabinet with carved roman imagery
« Reply #8 on: February 19, 2014, 09:18:16 pm »
The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge?

Offline Sosius

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Re: Antique coin cabinet with carved roman imagery
« Reply #9 on: February 20, 2014, 12:38:57 pm »


Can you guess where it now resides?

To those who "know", please give others a brief chance to answer.

Have fun!

Walter Holt

I would guess the home of Joe Sermarini!
Sosius

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650+ coins and about 2/3 done--I have a coin problem

Offline Joe Sermarini

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Re: Antique coin cabinet with carved roman imagery
« Reply #10 on: February 24, 2014, 10:08:37 am »
I wish! But no.
Joseph Sermarini
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Offline OldMoney

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Re: Antique coin cabinet with carved roman imagery
« Reply #11 on: February 25, 2014, 10:09:18 pm »
I suppose five days or so of responses should suffice . . .

The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge?

This is just one of many fabulous old-style cabinets there.

Well done Nemonater!
Was it really a guess, or did you know?
Have you been there? It is a great place to visit.
I highly recommend it (I have done so - from Australia!).
(A big Hello to my good mate Prof. Ted Buttrey).

Walter
Coins of Ephesus
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Walter Holt's Old Money - Ancient Coins
https://www.oldmoney.com.au
Sydney, Australia

Offline Nemonater

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Re: Antique coin cabinet with carved roman imagery
« Reply #12 on: February 25, 2014, 10:43:50 pm »
Well, it wasn't really a guess.  I read an article about the museum and its amazing coin cabinets and it's not something easily forgotten. Certainly a place on my wish list to visit, but I haven't made it there yet.  Unfortunately I responded to the "Can you guess" before reading the "To those who "know", please give others a brief chance to answer."

mea culpa!

Offline Sosius

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Re: Antique coin cabinet with carved roman imagery
« Reply #13 on: February 26, 2014, 11:01:53 am »
Here's another great one!

Münzkasten von Basilius Amerbach, Basel, um 1578 Nussbaum, Eiche, Ahorn, Birnbaum, Linde (?) massiv und furniert, Blindholz teilweise Nadelholz H. 45,9 cm, B. 73,3 cm, T. 55,6 cm // ENGLISH: Basilius Amerbach’s coin cabinet, Basel, ca. 1578, Walnut, oak, maple, pear, linden wood, solid and veneered, in places onto softwood H 45.9 cm, W 73.3 cm, D 55.6 cm

Sosius

My Gallery: https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/index.php?cat=24203
650+ coins and about 2/3 done--I have a coin problem

Offline Sosius

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Re: Antique coin cabinet with carved roman imagery
« Reply #14 on: February 26, 2014, 11:03:37 am »
...and another gem from the Metropolitan Museum.  My Roman Eqypt coins would look great in this one, I think!

Coin cabinet
Design by Charles Percier (French, Paris 1764–1838)

http://www.metmuseum.org...
Sosius

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650+ coins and about 2/3 done--I have a coin problem

Offline cmcdon0923

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Re: Antique coin cabinet with carved roman imagery
« Reply #15 on: February 26, 2014, 11:48:39 am »
A few more from the Fitzwilliam.....

Offline Sosius

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Re: Antique coin cabinet with carved roman imagery
« Reply #16 on: February 26, 2014, 11:50:49 am »
Very cool, Craig!  I've never seen a cabinet like that "vase" before.  I expect to see vase-style coin cabinets on your website soon!   :)
Sosius

My Gallery: https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/index.php?cat=24203
650+ coins and about 2/3 done--I have a coin problem

Offline cmcdon0923

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Re: Antique coin cabinet with carved roman imagery
« Reply #17 on: February 26, 2014, 11:59:35 am »
I'll get started on that right away !!!!

Offline cmcdon0923

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Re: Antique coin cabinet with carved roman imagery
« Reply #18 on: February 26, 2014, 12:00:41 pm »
And here's one that belonged to King George III......

"It's good to be the King."  -- Mel Brooks, History of the World - Part One

Offline cmcdon0923

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Re: Antique coin cabinet with carved roman imagery
« Reply #19 on: February 26, 2014, 03:55:34 pm »
Here's another great one!

Münzkasten von Basilius Amerbach, Basel, um 1578 Nussbaum, Eiche, Ahorn, Birnbaum, Linde (?) massiv und furniert, Blindholz teilweise Nadelholz H. 45,9 cm, B. 73,3 cm, T. 55,6 cm // ENGLISH: Basilius Amerbach’s coin cabinet, Basel, ca. 1578, Walnut, oak, maple, pear, linden wood, solid and veneered, in places onto softwood H 45.9 cm, W 73.3 cm, D 55.6 cm


That's an odd design.  I asume the trays on the front are full sized (depth) as opposed to the little ones on the sides that appear to be only a few inches deep.

Offline crispina

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Re: Antique coin cabinet with carved roman imagery
« Reply #20 on: February 28, 2014, 11:12:49 am »
Congratulations, Sosius - your cabinet is beautiful!!!

"It's good to be the King."  -- Mel Brooks, History of the World - Part One

Agreed!  But even being Duke isn't too shabby! :)  This one, now in the collection of the Bayerisches Nationalmuseum in Munich, was built by Christoph Angermair between 1618-1624 for Duke Maximilian I of Bavaria, who used it exclusively for the storage of his gold coins:
 

Offline cmcdon0923

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Re: Antique coin cabinet with carved roman imagery
« Reply #21 on: February 28, 2014, 11:28:15 am »
That's nice!  Is that carved out of stone?

Offline crispina

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Re: Antique coin cabinet with carved roman imagery
« Reply #22 on: February 28, 2014, 11:43:28 am »
Ivory, actually.

And here is one more - I don't know if it actually "counts" - because, although it originally stored silver coins, it also stored jewelry and was probably more of a strongbox than a collector's cabinet...but it is so beautiful, I can't resist it!

From the House of Meander in Pompeii, now in the collection of the
(Museo Archeologico Nazionale in Naples.)

Offline Akropolis

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Re: Antique coin cabinet with carved roman imagery
« Reply #23 on: March 04, 2014, 11:47:51 am »
A few more from the Fitzwilliam.....

Re: Reply 15 above.

This was fascinating to me, in that a bit over 40 years ago, I bought the cabinet below at an antique store in the Boston area. It has a similar construction technique to the one in Reply 15, but cylindrcal in design. I thought it was unique, in that in all these years, I have never seen a similar construction. On my second image, you can see a key hole on top. I do have the key and it does lock. A really neat bronze machining achievement!

Mine is 20.5 inches tall and 8.5 inches in diameter. Wonderful wood grain. A joy to look at, but rather useless, in that you do not have random access to each storage tray. To access the bottom tray, one must remove all trays above it.....as with the Fitzwillian example.

I presume these were an effort to fool burglars into ignoring them and safeguard the coin collection therein.

I would love to know who created these intersting objects and if there are even more examples around!

PeteB

Offline Akropolis

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Re: Antique coin cabinet with carved roman imagery
« Reply #24 on: March 04, 2014, 11:50:10 am »
Second image:
Perhaps someone could forward a link for these to Prof. Ted Buttrey. I have no address for him, but he might be interested in a "cousin" to the cabinet he has :-)
Edit: Please ignore the last. I found his e-mail address on good old Google!
PeteB

 

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