since a cassone contained the personal goods of the bride, it was a natural vehicle for painted decoration commemorating the marriage in heraldry and, when figural painted panels began to be included in the decor from the early "quattrocento", flattering allegory. the side panels offered a flat surface for a suitable painting, with subjects drawn from courtly romance or, much less often, religious subjects. by the 15th century subjects from classical mythology or history became the most popular. great florentine artists of the 15th century were called upon to decorate "cassoni", though as vasari complains, by his time in the 16th century, artists thought such work beneath them. some tuscan artists in siena and florence specialized in such cassone panels, which were preserved as autonomous works of art by 19th century collectors and dealers, who sometimes discarded the cassone itself. from the late 1850s, neo-renaissance cassoni were confected for dealers like william blundell spence, stefano bardini or elia volpi in order to present surviving cassone panels to clients in a more "authentic" and glamorous presentation.