On the Design Features of Russian Chests (16th — the First Quarter of the 20th Century)

Abstract

Chest has been used by man for centuries. It served not only as a storage container for documents, valuables, dowry, but also as a table, bed and bench. Throughout the history of Russian chest craft, several basic designs have developed. Despite the importance of the problems and questions related to the design features of the Russian chest, no special research was devoted to them. Information found in the literature is sketchy, and the sources give only the basis for assumptions. The purpose of this article is to identify and analyze the main designs that existed in the Russian chest production. The main tasks include: the introduction of new information into scientific circulation and the analysis of specific works. The research material involved works from the collection of the State Russian Museum and other museums. Chronological framework of the study is from the 16t through the first quarter of the 20th centuries. This is explained by the fact that the first Russian preserved chests dated back to the 16th century, and beginning with the first quarter of the 20th century, mechanization of production had become increasingly growing in the chest craft, which resulted in a significant decrease in the quality of products. The author comes to the following conclusions: there were four main designs in Russian chest production – sarcophagus, frame-panel (as a variant of the first), ‘dovetail’ and manufacture; there was a dependence of the design of chests on the forms of production organization; the design of the chest can currently be only an additional attributing feature; the repertoire of designs to which European masters applied, was richer than accepted in the Russian chest craft.