It is a box with a hinged lid that can safeguard your personal items. Some chests are equipped with locking mechanisms or a metal band that a lock can be secured on. In Webster’s Dictionary 1988 version, a chest is defined as a “a box with a lid and often, a lock, for storing or shipping things” or as “a cabinet as for holding medical supplies, toiletries, etc.” [1]
Chests designed for linens or other soft objects would have a very smooth interior, and chests made for heavy equipment or weapons, would have a more course interior. Chests back in the day were used primarily as a storage unit rather than just a piece of furniture similar to those used today.
These chests did use the standard band of iron over the lid and the body of the chest to close it or lock it. There were a few different styles of the chest like square box or domed lid chests, which were so different that there wasn’t an effective way to categorize them. [2] Each had their own sense of decoration, so each had its own purpose. Domed chests with their lid shape would have thrown off water and discouraged their use as seats. This use of the chests in the 15th to 16th centuries made the chest have a longer life due to the conditions the chest avoided, such as water or using them as seats.
The furniture chests today have evolved from one that has been designed to store items for practical use, to one that is used to hold family trinkets or toys for children or grandchildren. They have also been used for primarily as a decoration and a place that could serve as a seat rather than just a transportation device.
Finally, the dowry chest, or the hope chest, made its way in for the firstborn girl of a family. Instead of just having sheets and household linen in the bottom drawer, this box, or dowry chest or hope chest, would transport these goods and/or dowries and be used later as a standard piece of furniture for the lady of the house to use. Typically, the dowry chest was the most richly decorated pieces. As history and time oved on, the chest gradually became smaller, and jewel boxes began to emerge into history instead of the large dowry boxes. These huge crates still existed, but they were becoming scarce. These chests did indeed have an impact in history, but their time is beginning to come an end. [3]
It symbolized the time of growing up and moving out of the household. Traditionally made from cedar, they were usually simple boxes with a hinged door as the tabletop.
Stone, C. (2015) :The Art of the Dowry Chest”. Retrieved from:
https://www.aramcoworld.com/en-US/Articles/November-2015/The-Art-of-the-Dowry-Chest
Pickvance, C. (2007) MEDIEVAL TRACERY-CARVED CLAMP-FRONTED CHESTS: THE ‘KENTISH GOTHIC’ CHESTS OF RAINHAM, FAVERSHAM AND CANTERBURY IN COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVE. Retrieved from:
https://regionalfurnituresociety.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/medieval-tracery-carved-clamp-fronted-chests.pdf
Pickvance, C. (2012) “Medieval Domed Chests in Kent: A Contribution to a National and International Study.” Retrieved from:
https://kar.kent.ac.uk/59069/1/RF%202012%20Domed%20article%20A04%20Pickvance.pdf
Nuefeldt, V., Editor in Chief. (1988) Webster’s New World Dictionary. Location of
Publisher: Simon and Schuster, Inc.
- ^ Nuefeldt, V., Editor in Chief. (1988) Webster’s New World Dictionary. Location of Publisher: Simon and Schuster, Inc.
- ^ Pickvance, C. (2007) MEDIEVAL TRACERY-CARVED CLAMP-FRONTED CHESTS: THE ‘KENTISH GOTHIC’ CHESTS OF RAINHAM, FAVERSHAM AND CANTERBURY IN COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVE. Retrieved from: https://regionalfurnituresociety.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/medieval-tracery-carved-clamp-fronted-chests.pdf
- ^ Stone, C. (2015) :The Art of the Dowry Chest”. Retrieved from: https://www.aramcoworld.com/en-US/Articles/November-2015/The-Art-of-the-Dowry-Chest
It is a box with a hinged lid that can safeguard your personal items. Some chests are equipped with locking mechanisms or a metal band that a lock can be secured on. In Webster’s Dictionary 1988 version, a chest is defined as a “a box with a lid and often, a lock, for storing or shipping things” or as “a cabinet as for holding medical supplies, toiletries, etc.” [1]
Chests designed for linens or other soft objects would have a very smooth interior, and chests made for heavy equipment or weapons, would have a more course interior. Chests back in the day were used primarily as a storage unit rather than just a piece of furniture similar to those used today.
These chests did use the standard band of iron over the lid and the body of the chest to close it or lock it. There were a few different styles of the chest like square box or domed lid chests, which were so different that there wasn’t an effective way to categorize them. [2] Each had their own sense of decoration, so each had its own purpose. Domed chests with their lid shape would have thrown off water and discouraged their use as seats. This use of the chests in the 15th to 16th centuries made the chest have a longer life due to the conditions the chest avoided, such as water or using them as seats.
The furniture chests today have evolved from one that has been designed to store items for practical use, to one that is used to hold family trinkets or toys for children or grandchildren. They have also been used for primarily as a decoration and a place that could serve as a seat rather than just a transportation device.
Finally, the dowry chest, or the hope chest, made its way in for the firstborn girl of a family. Instead of just having sheets and household linen in the bottom drawer, this box, or dowry chest or hope chest, would transport these goods and/or dowries and be used later as a standard piece of furniture for the lady of the house to use. Typically, the dowry chest was the most richly decorated pieces. As history and time oved on, the chest gradually became smaller, and jewel boxes began to emerge into history instead of the large dowry boxes. These huge crates still existed, but they were becoming scarce. These chests did indeed have an impact in history, but their time is beginning to come an end. [3]
It symbolized the time of growing up and moving out of the household. Traditionally made from cedar, they were usually simple boxes with a hinged door as the tabletop.
Stone, C. (2015) :The Art of the Dowry Chest”. Retrieved from:
https://www.aramcoworld.com/en-US/Articles/November-2015/The-Art-of-the-Dowry-Chest
Pickvance, C. (2007) MEDIEVAL TRACERY-CARVED CLAMP-FRONTED CHESTS: THE ‘KENTISH GOTHIC’ CHESTS OF RAINHAM, FAVERSHAM AND CANTERBURY IN COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVE. Retrieved from:
https://regionalfurnituresociety.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/medieval-tracery-carved-clamp-fronted-chests.pdf
Pickvance, C. (2012) “Medieval Domed Chests in Kent: A Contribution to a National and International Study.” Retrieved from:
https://kar.kent.ac.uk/59069/1/RF%202012%20Domed%20article%20A04%20Pickvance.pdf
Nuefeldt, V., Editor in Chief. (1988) Webster’s New World Dictionary. Location of
Publisher: Simon and Schuster, Inc.
- ^ Nuefeldt, V., Editor in Chief. (1988) Webster’s New World Dictionary. Location of Publisher: Simon and Schuster, Inc.
- ^ Pickvance, C. (2007) MEDIEVAL TRACERY-CARVED CLAMP-FRONTED CHESTS: THE ‘KENTISH GOTHIC’ CHESTS OF RAINHAM, FAVERSHAM AND CANTERBURY IN COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVE. Retrieved from: https://regionalfurnituresociety.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/medieval-tracery-carved-clamp-fronted-chests.pdf
- ^ Stone, C. (2015) :The Art of the Dowry Chest”. Retrieved from: https://www.aramcoworld.com/en-US/Articles/November-2015/The-Art-of-the-Dowry-Chest