Coat of Arms (casket lid, side); Three Apostles (casket, side)

This painted casket by Simone dei Crocifissi (c. 1360), now at the Victoria and Albert Museum, combines a coat of arms on the lid with images of three Apostles on the side. Simone dei Crocifissi was the leading painter in Bologna during the second half of the fourteenth century, known particularly for his devotional panels and crucifixes. Painted caskets served both sacred and secular functions in medieval Italy—they could house relics, liturgical objects, or precious personal items—and their decoration with saints reflected the belief in the protective power of sacred images.

Tempera and gold on a wooden casket panel, combining heraldic and sacred imagery in a decorative program. Simone's Bolognese style features strong, somewhat austere figural types with clear outlines and rich gilding, adapted here to the intimate scale of a luxury object.