Iron mounted cuir bouilli (boiled leather) casket - France15th century

A Gothic iron mounted cuir bouilli casket.

The leather on the domed top and sides are decorated with incised gothic text.

French, late 15th century.

Measures 27 x 18 x 18cm.

Provenance: Howth Castle, Howth, Co. Dublin, Ireland.

Cuir bouilli, which translates as boiled leather, is the method used to shape and tool the leather onto the caskets oak carcass before binding it with iron.