What is the chest made of. How a Russian chest was a hiding place, a closet, a luxury accessory and a camping bath

Published: February 24, 2012

Box(from Turkic sandyk) - a product of cabinet furniture with a folding or removable top cover, is used as a container for storing household items, jewelry and other valuables. It has been used in a wide variety of cultures since ancient times. Currently, the chest as an item of peasant use can be seen in Russian and Eastern European villages, as well as in various museums.

History

The nomadic culture of the Turkic tribes developed ideal forms for transportation and storage of household items. When wandering, light containers made of felt, leather, fabric, and wood were used. For example, the Kazakhs widely used chests made of wood, often decorated with embossed metal. The difference between sandyk (chest) and shabadans (suitcases) was that the shabadan/suitcase was made of soft materials type of leather and fabric, and the chest / sandyk had a rigid structure.

During the early Middle Ages, the chest was often the main and universal piece of furniture. Could play the role of a table, chair, bed and, of course, directly storage of clothes, household items, valuables. The chest is the forerunner and prototype of the wardrobe; placed vertically, began to have two doors, drawers. Thanks to the conservative and practical folk culture, types of chests of ancient archaic designs have survived to this day.

Design and varieties

Chests were made most often of wood, trimmed with decorative metal parts. To prevent the theft of the valuables stored in them, they had locking devices: in expensive chests in the form of a built-in lock or a secret mechanism that prevents unlocking, and in cheap ones in the form of a padlock.

Specific types of chests include teremok And headrest. The chest-teremok got its name from the superstructure over the rich house - the tower and, like it, had on the lid of its main compartment another, smaller container with its own special lid, in which the most valuable items were placed. The chest-headrest was small in size, the lid had, consisting of two planes: horizontal, covering the rear compartment of the chest, and inclined, above the front compartment, on which a pillow was placed. The owner of such a chest could not be afraid that his most valuable things would be stolen from him when he was sleeping.

While the chest was a luxury item and was used to store expensive things, there was chest, similar in shape to a chest, but made more simply, roughly and without decorations. Grain, flour were stored in it, at the market they were used to sell edibles.

Until the advent of sawmills at the end of the 18th century. and the associated cheapening of lumber, the chest, being an expensive item, was an accessory of a rich house, and for ordinary people in Russia it was replaced boxes- its walls were made of bast, and the bottom was wooden, there was a lid. The boxes were different sizes, could be painted and not painted - "former". In large quantities, they were also available in the homes of wealthy people.

Locker

Various boxes on sea and river vessels are called lockers and are intended for storing flags, lots, lags, personal belongings, etc. Portable sailor's box for personal belongings - locker. In modern naval slang, a locker is also called a duffel bag. Moreover, on passenger trains, boxes under the lower shelf (in a reserved seat, for example) are also called lockers.

Notes

1. GOST 20400-80 Furniture production. Terms and Definitions

From: Wikipedia on the day of publication,  

The lady handed over to the luggage ... Yes, why didn’t she just hand over! Oh, how you can sympathize with her! But she could entrust all this to one travel chest and a porter, she herself would have marched simply as a Lady with a dog ...

They say that all other furniture went from the chest. During excavations in Egypt, the first pieces of furniture were found, among which were chests. Things belong to the 3rd c. BC e. And practical Greeks began to use chests not only as chests for storing things, but also as beds and benches. (Note that in our kitchen sets the Greek profile is visible: under the cover of the sofa there is a space in which you can keep supplies or extra dishes).

If we trace the transformation of the chest, and its changes occurred depending on the emergence of more and more new modes of transport, then we can build something like this chain: chest - trunk - suitcase - bag - casket. Something can be swapped, but one thing is clear: any of these things is adapted for storing and transporting luggage - whether large or small.

The chest is such a simple and practical thing that its invention and distribution did not go in the usual way, along the chain, from one country to another. We can say that he was introduced everywhere and at once. All people initially stored somewhere and somehow transported their property: if on a donkey, then in bags, on a wagon - in chests, in later modes of transport - in suitcases and bags. The chest-suitcase was even turned vertically and put on wheels. The storage of things in a dwelling went through a similar path: they transferred it from a bag to a chest-chest, and the chest, constantly growing up due to the abundance of things, turned into a closet.

Even if the chest was born somewhere beyond the distant seas, in our country it is considered primordially Russian utensils. The world knew the Russians, Makaryev's coffers. They made these utensils of wood both on nails and without them - on spikes, end-to-end or on glue. In fact, nothing has changed in centuries. Chests are similar in their design. And here's the decor! Wrought iron, inserts from other types of wood, covering both inside and outside with fabric, leather... Designers put Zanzibar chests in the first place in decor because of the exquisite carving of East African motifs.

Designers do not consider the chest a relic of the past, on the contrary, they argue that this piece of furniture can become a style-forming element of the apartment. And if it is still filled with grandmother's lace and embroidery! Will we dare to put the chest in modern apartment? But here in a mansion or in a country house - easily!

By the way, on sites for DIY enthusiasts there are detailed instructions for the construction of chests. "Construction" of chests and suitcases was not only a means of earning money, but also a hobby. For example, Dmitri Mendeleev, already a famous chemist, pored over the manufacture of suitcases for a long time. There is a known case when, when asked about him - who is this gentleman who chooses material for suitcases in a shop, the owner answered: “Oh, this is the famous suitcase master Mendeleev!”

Some modern professions are associated with the chest. Before costumers and props, there was a profession of clothes stackers in chests. One of them was the Frenchman Louis Vuitton, who knew how to lay clothes in such a way that there was not a single fold on them later.

Creative inclinations helped him become the founder of a company under own name, whose products are still being chased by women of fashion all over the world today: from chests that are inconvenient for traveling on trains and steamers, he made suitcases and travel bags.

Louis Vuitton was ordered even suitcases with a built-in bed, suitcases in which you can transport equipment for various games, suitcases-tables for tea drinking. At all times there were many hunters to travel: with a knapsack over their shoulder, hitchhiking or with the contents of three bookcases, except for clothes and other things. The latter can be attributed, for example, to Goethe, who traveled for many months, and read and wrote on the way. And here what could be more reliable than chests and trunks!

The real home was the travel chest of Alexander the Third. Let's take a closer look at it, it's worth it! Drawers for linen and dishes occupy the lower floor. A bed with a mattress and pillows, water heaters and other bedding is located in the middle part. What's at the top? Compartment for hats, epaulettes, belts, cigarettes and tobacco. Even a device for stretching gloves can be found here. And, finally: a washstand with a mirror, shaving accessories, a basin, a manicure set, a box of ointments - you can’t list everything.

A person learns about the chest in childhood, although, perhaps, later in his life he will not meet him live. Of course, from fairy tales! Andersen had a flying chest. The chests kept the gold of Koschey and pirates. Have you noticed how angry women walk away from men in movies? They throw their things into the suitcase, often with a coat hanger! The chest wouldn't let them! Despite everything, he, as the publicist S. Likhtarovich writes, remains important, like a merchant of the first guild.

Whether we have a chest or have never seen it in our lives, we often use the word itself: a grandmother’s chest is a piggy bank of some old things or even ideas, a chest of history is a prescription, hide in a chest for seven locks - about greed, a chest is about a secretive person , old cars are called chests, computer entertainment is named after the chest ...

I remember well the home chest, chests, more precisely, my sister had a separate one for a dowry. And in the common chest at the bottom there were heavy things: an overcoat in which my mother came from the front, plush jackets, covering shawls, i.e. what was used on a case-by-case basis. Above were half-shawls, scarves, sweaters. And on top - the most interesting: embroidery, lace. The layers were covered with rags.

A real celebration of the chest (or chest?) Was arranged at the beginning of summer, on a sunny day, when both things and the chest itself were pulled out to dry. On long ropes supported by stakes, such a variety of colors blazed through the village!

The chest always contained some secret. There were kept photographs, documents, gizmos dear to the heart, looking at which was timed to coincide with the date, for example, letters from the war, orders and medals. Surprises for children in the form of a couple of sweets were hidden in the chest. And now the chest is wonderful - the memory of times, of people ...

At all times, people had to store things and valuables somewhere, and this issue arose especially when a person set off on a journey. Now such storages are cabinets, safes, suitcases, but they appeared only one and a half to two centuries ago. Prior to this, throughout for long years, all these household items were replaced by a chest.

The history of the chest begins many centuries ago. It is believed that they were invented in the Neolithic. However, it is reliably known that the ancient Egyptians used them, from them the chests passed into ancient Greece and Rome, and in the early Middle Ages they spread to half the world: throughout Europe, Asia, they reached Russia. This happened with the help of nomadic tribes and conquering armies.

Appearing in the country, the chest acquired national features and changed, and its functions expanded. So his appearance was decorated with a variety of panels, forged patterns, intricate carvings, covered with leather and fabric. The chest was closed with a bolt or lock, and there were both hinged and mortise ones. We can talk about destinations for a very long time, because in addition to storing and transporting household belongings, clothes and tools, there were chests for weapons and money (safe chests), sarcophagus chests and throne chests. Also, the chest could play the role of a bed, table, bench, chair, and put on its side, it became a wardrobe and chest of drawers. The sizes of the chests varied over a very wide range: from tiny boxes to giant ones, inside which one could not only store things, but also sleep!

Nomadic tribes, having replaced wood with fabric, felt and leather in the manufacture of a chest (sandyk), turned it first into a baul, and then into a shabadan (suitcase). The very word chest (sandyk) in Russia appeared together with the Tatar-Mongolian yoke and firmly established itself among the chests, boxes, hiding places.

Making a chest is a complex process that requires participation different masters(carpenter, blacksmith, painter, locksmith). In each province, the manufactured products had their own unique features, and until the beginning of the last century, the chest was the main peasant furniture.

Over the years, chests have changed their external forms and turned into new objects. So in the 17th century, this type of furniture underwent serious modifications. Legs were attached to the chest and drawers were installed, so a prototype of a modern chest of drawers appeared.

Currently, interest in chests has increased again. Vintage and modern, they are most often used in the living room as coffee table, lamp stands or in the bedroom at the foot of the bed, being at the same time the main attribute in interior design.

Medvedeva Alexandra

Purpose of the study: learn chest history

Tasks:

• Find out the origin of the object of study (history, purpose, time and place) - the chest.
• Set the creator and technology for making the chest.
• Study the literature on the history of the appearance of the chest.
• Try to find materials about rituals, signs, proverbs and sayings related to the chest.

Object of study: Great-great-grandmother's chest and its purpose.

Subject of study: The story of my grandmother's family.

Relevance: Now only some residents of the village where my great-grandmother once lived have preserved chests, but already as a relic, a tribute to memory. What a pity that convenient chests are undeservedly forgotten today. At the mention of the word “chest” or “chest”, many of my peers recall only exhibits of local history museums or a detail of the situation seen in a film about village life of past centuries. Few of the modern guys were lucky to see an old chest "live". I still have that opportunity.

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Research:

"Grandma's Chest"

Introduction…………………………………………………………..….3

My research

1. What is a "chest"? ............................4
2. Chest technology. Chest fishing…..4
3. Signs and beliefs associated with chests…………………...5
4. My family heirloom…………………………………………..5

Conclusion…………………………………………………….…..7

References………………………………………………..8

Appendix ………………………………………………………….9

Introduction

Too bad things can't talk. Otherwise, they would have told us the story of our distant ancestors. A little sad, somewhat incomprehensible, but so warm and close. For some reason I believe that every thing has a soul. She keeps the warmth of the touch of human hands.

In our family, a family heirloom is passed down from generation to generation - an old great-grandmother's chest.

When I saw this chest for the first time, I had many questions:

1. Why keep things in a chest for so many years that no one has been wearing for a long time, and is unlikely to be worn?
2. There is nothing of value there, but the chest, for some reason, was locked with a key?
3. Who made this chest, where and when was it created?
4. Why did mother decide to bring this chest with her to Naryan-Mar?

My task was to answer these questions.

Purpose of my research: learn chest history

Tasks:

1. Find out the origin of the object of study (history, purpose, time and place) - the chest.
2. Set the creator and technology for making the chest.
3. Study the literature on the history of the appearance of the chest.
4. Try to find materials about rituals, signs, proverbs and sayings related to the chest.

Object of study: Great-great-grandmother's chest and its purpose.

Subject of study:History of my grandmother's family.

Relevance: Now only some residents of the village where my great-grandmother once lived have preserved chests, but already as a relic, a tribute to memory. What a pity that convenient chests are undeservedly forgotten today. At the mention of the word “chest” or “chest”, many of my peers recall only exhibits of local history museums or a detail of the situation seen in a film about village life of past centuries. Few of the modern guys were lucky to see an old chest "live". I still have that opportunity.

My research

1. What is a "chest"?

The first question that interested me was "What is a chest?". To answer it, I looked into reference books and this is what I found there.

According to Ozhegov's dictionary, "A chest is a box with a hinged lid and a lock, usually ironed, for storing things."

The chest, along with the name, came to us from the East. It is known that all eastern peoples - Egyptians, Arabs, Persians, Assyrians and many others - even in later centuries used chests instead of cabinets.

In Russia, the chest remained the most important piece of furniture until the 19th century.

Chests were very common and received by the people different names. There are many types of chests. They were made in various sizes, colors, using various types of wood.

The prototype of the Russian chest is cooperage or dugout kublo, in which dowries and other valuable property were kept. First of all, the Russians had hide . (Appendix No. 1)

Another type of chest is chest (Appendix No. 2) (a long box with a lid, for various belongings and products. Similar in name, but having a completely different look and purpose casket.

Some types of chests had an unusual shape, such as chest- headings (Appendix No. 3). It carried money, jewelry, securities. It could be put under the head - the most reliable place for safety.Also in demand was a small chest, which was called the ark (Appendix No. 4) Sometimes the chests were covered with leather, fabric or iron. Such a chest was called a "casket" (Appendix No. 5). Initially, they kept glassware, drinks, papers and jewelry. The diminutive name for such a chest is "box". Also on the farm were used a travel chest "cellar" (Appendix No. 6) and a chest, which was called "korobeyka". (Appendix No. 7)

In this way , the wooden chest is a multifunctional and versatile item. In addition to its direct purpose - to store things, it decorated the room, brought notes of folk culture and ancient life into it. In addition, the chest was often used as furniture, they sat on it, and slept peacefully at night without fear of thieves. In Russia, the wealth of a family was measured by the number of chests.

1. Manufacturing technologychests. Chest fishing.

The next question I wanted to answer was: “How and where were the chests made?” Here's what I was able to find out.

In the XVI - XVII centuries. the most famous centerschest production were Veliky Ustyug and Kholmogory- large trading cities of Russia on the Northern Dvina.

The richest were painted chests Nizhny Tagil . On their walls and lids, up to eight pictures were painted with plots copied from engravings and lithographs.

To make a chest, the efforts of craftsmen of different specialties were required: some made wooden boxes, others - metal locks, still others - handles, hinges, fourth ones prepared iron and tin, varnished it, printers and chasers decorated sheets with patterns.

Chests were made from thin dried pine boards, and stuffed on the walls in a certain sequence metal sheathing: the faces were decorated with embossed or painted oblique checkered stripes. A lock was embedded on the front wall, brackets - handles were attached to the side walls.

1. Signs and beliefs associated with chests.

The chest was not just a piece of furniture. There was a special relationship with him. After all, not every piece of furniture was composed of signs and beliefs! And about the chest, they still exist. For example, these:

1. You can’t open the chest on one of the days of Maslenitsa, so as not to release wealth and good luck from it.
2. You can’t give your chest to anyone - you won’t get married yourself and the one to whom you gave happiness will not.
3. You can not put children's things in the chests. This was considered a great sin, since the child's clothes smelled of mother's milk.

There were folk traditions associated with the chest. For example, these:

1. When redeeming a dowry, the younger brothers, sisters and nephews of the bride sat on the chest, who appointed the amount of the ransom.
2. Before the wedding, the chest was cleared of " evil spirits". To do this, they surrounded him with a lit candle, an icon, poured a pinch of salt. Then they put money, bread, sometimes dishes, so that the chest would not be empty all their lives, so that the young would live richly.

1. My family heirloom.

The next question I had to answer was: “Who owned the chest that my mother brought? (Appendix No. 8) What was the name of the master who made it? To answer these questions, during the summer holidays I went to the village of Gorka in the Yemetsky district of the Arkhangelsk region. My relatives live there, who kept our chest for a long time. Talking with Leshukova Valentina Nikolaevna (my maternal grandmother) I managed to learn a lot of interesting things about the history of my family. Here's what I found out.

My great-great-grandmother Ulyana Stepanovna Teterina was born in 1870 in the Yemetsky district in the village of Melandovo, now this village is called Gorka. We have a grandmother's house. (Appendix No. 9) The house was built by great-great-grandfather Teterin Aksenty Yegorovich in 1891, now the house is 121 years old. In our old house there are many interesting things and objects previously unknown to us, for example, there is a hook in the ceiling near entrance doors, it turns out that a cradle with a little girl was hung on this hook and the girl slept at the very door, if the girl survives - well, but if she doesn’t survive, then no one felt sorry for the girl why? Because if a girl was born, then the land was not given to her. There is a carved sideboard for dishes in the house, carved stair railings, old chairs and a table, self-woven rugs. Lots of antiques were stolen. My grandparents, and my grandfather was 12 years older than my grandmother, had 11 children, and they raised 10 children. Seven boys and three girls. Grandmother was awarded a gold star and had the title of "Mother Heroine". Grandmother did housework, wove rugs on a loom, maintained a house, felt felt boots, kept livestock - cows, sheep, horses. Previously, each boy in the family was given an allotment - that means land for building a house. Grandfather and his sons built seven houses. Subsequently, these houses were taken away from my grandfather, they considered him a rich man. They left only one house. Also, grandfather and his sons created their own team and worked as carpenters for landowners (wealthy people), there were two of them in the village.

All things and furniture for the house were made by grandfather with his own hands.

It was in this house that one of the main pieces of furniture was a grandmother's chest. My grandfather made it himself for my grandmother in 1892, now he is 120 years old. A chest with a lid, it is made of larch, on top of the lid there is an iron handle. The chest has a small size; its length is 36 centimeters, width - 30 centimeters, height with a lid - 28 centimeters. It is not decorated with anything, but the grandmother covered this chest with an openwork, white napkin - it looked very elegant. Grandmother always kept the chest closed, there was an internal lock, and only grandmother knew where the keys were. This chest stood on the floor in the front room, it is also called the upper room, or the central room. The chest also served as a place to sit.

And in the chest, the grandmother kept her outfits - an elegant festive sundress, which she wore on holidays, white shirts, armlets, a scarf - a silk iridescent scarf with tassels.

Now grandmother's chest is in our apartment. We cleaned it up and varnished it. In it we add threads, yarn, wool for felting, various things for needlework. It also serves as a small table. We are very glad we have the thing of our ancestors.

Conclusion

During this study:

1. I managed to find out what a chest is, the types of chests, the technology of its manufacture.
2. The owner, creator and purpose of the chest, which is our family heirloom, has been established.
3. I got acquainted with proverbs, sayings and signs of the Russian people associated with chests.

Based on the results of the study, I formulate the following conclusions:

1. The first owner of the chest is my great-great-grandmother Uliana Stepanovna Teterina
2. The chest was made by my great-great-grandfather Aksenty Yegorovich. Date of manufacture - 1892, the village of Melandovo (now Gorka) of the Yemetsky district of the Arkhangelsk region.
3. The type of great-grandmother's chests is a chest.

Past, present and future are always closely intertwined. You can't look to the future while forgetting the past. Preserving the traditions of the past, we preserve ourselves, our people, we feel like a part of a large nation.

Literature

1. Dal V. Explanatory Dictionary of the Living Great Russian Language. M., 1968.

   Application No. 4

   Application No. 5

   Application No. 6

   Application No. 7

   Application No. 8

   Application No. 9

The chest is a kind of keeper family life. He stood in almost every Russian house. Well, if there were several of them, the family was considered prosperous.

More V.I.Dal in his “ explanatory dictionary living Great Russian language" wrote that "chests and boxes are native Russian utensils".

Although she came to us together with the Tatar-Mongols in the XIII century. Yes, and the very word "chest" is of Turkic origin.

Types of chests

In the Russian north, two types of chests were common - with a flat hinged lid and a convex one. They also differed in size. There were small chests, close to caskets. They were intended for storing valuable jewelry, household items and money. The small ones included a “headrest” chest, a “teremok”, and a chest for a dowry.

There were also huge chests in the houses - for clothes or food. For strength, the chest was bound with iron strips, sometimes smooth, sometimes with a perforated pattern. Big locks were hung on big chests. Often the walls were covered with conditional painting: with plant or zoomorphic motifs.

It could also be fairy tales - heroes, herbs, "wonderful bird", as well as many other folklore characters and symbols, the meaning and meaning of which was gradually lost.

“Articles decorated in this way brought a sense of celebration to a poor dwelling.”

Surprisingly, the chest has not lost its relevance even now. Unlike the spinning wheel, which can only be seen in a museum, the chest is still used in some homes today.

True, if you want to see old samples, you have to go to the museum. A large collection of chests, open to anyone, can boast of the new museum of the Open Collection Foundation - Peasant Art and Avant-Garde in Skolkovo.

Anastasia Nekrasova