Game of Civettino (a Birth Salver)

Lo Scheggia, brother of Masaccio, was one of the favourite artists of the wealthy Florentine families for painting of scenes on marriage chests, birth plates, and in general for the ornamentation of furniture and household fittings. The desco da parto (birth salver) was used in the Quattrocento to celebrate the birth of children. It was either round or octagonal in shape, painted sometimes on both sides with sacred and profane subjects.

This panel shows a street scene with game called “civettino”. It represents an idealized vision of 15th-century Florence, with its architecture, customs, clothing, and scenery.