"MICHEL MANN" CASKET

This beautiful casket is pretending to be one made by the famous master metalworker Michel Mann in Nuremberg or Augsburg around 1600.

At first it seems that it cannot be opened; however one end of a silver strap can be lifted and the whole strap can be rotated to reveal the keyhole.

The first clue to it being a copy is that the newly revealed signature is spelled incorrectly.

Also whilst engraved all over including the bottom, the quality of the designs is not quite as good or as detailed as on the originals. It was probably made in the 18th Century and maybe engraved a little later.

It measures 13.5 cm wide and the interior with its complex and jewelled mechanism operating four bolts from a single turn of the key rivals any miniature Armada Chest.

 

 

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