Grave casket

3D Model

Grave casket

The naos (shrine)-shaped box was intended for burial gifts for the deceased. Its walls are made of planks attached to the bottom with dowels and slightly inclined to the inside. The lid has not survived. The sides are decorated with a set of motifs bearing symbolic significance, ensuring the deceased person’s security in the afterlife. The front is occupied by an image of a closed door, which forms a border and at the same time a connection between the world of the living and the world of the dead.

The box belonged to the collection of Edward Goldstein (1844–1920), a physician, anthropologist and participant in the January Uprising (1863/64). He donated his rich art collection, acquired in exile in Paris, to the National Museum in Kraków in 1909.

For more images and further information, visit: https://muzea.malopolska.pl/en/objects-list/1870

Inventory number: MNK XI-A-431

Location of the physical object: National Museum in Kraków, Poland