An early 17th century boarded cypress-wood and 'pitch'-decorated chest, North Italian

An early 17th century boarded cypress-wood and 'pitch'-decorated chest, North Italian
Of dove-tailed construction, the incised-carved decoration filled with mastic/pitch, the lid of two thick boards, the front edge decorated and centred by the initials 'AT', the front board decorated with four arcades, two enclosing a fanciful bird, the other pair a serpent-like creature, all below a pair of mythical beasts and stylized flora, the cut-away plinth base decorated to the front, the internal edges of the chest typical punched-decorated, with interior lidded till, 152cm wide x 56.5cm deep x 76cm high, (59 1/2in wide x 22in deep x 29 1/2in high)