c. 1550-1580

Lock Plate and Hasp

Artist/maker unknown

This elaborate lock plate and hasp were once attached to a chest. The plate bears ornamental “trophies” recalling ancient Roman art: parade helmets and breastplates over cartouches supported by figures of a man and a woman. The hasp features an allegory of Abundance and a coat of arms that joins the crest of the Orsini family of Rome with that of the Sanseverino family of Naples, suggesting that the lock plate and hasp once belonged to a chest made in connection with a marriage between the two.