The history of Russian chest craft (19th – early 20th centuries). Collection of scientific articles
specialties were represented in the Russian capital in large numbers. There were swedish masters in other cities and villages of Russia. It is no coincidence that Vladimir Suslov in his «Travel Notes» (1888) pointed to the striking similarity between the objects of peasant life in Sweden and the Russian North. Running a little ahead, we point out that the researcher meant not only Sweden, but also Norway, and chests also appeared in his comparisons9.
Russia has active cultural and economic ties with Norway and Denmark. From the Icelandic sagas it is known that the Norwegians made trade trips to the Russian lands, mainly to Novgorod already in the X – early XII centuries. The border between states was officially recognized in 1326. Trade relations became permanent in the 16th century, the Norwegians came to Kola, Kegor, the Pechengsky monastery, Kholmogory. In the next century Arkhangelsk became the main trade center. Russian merchants also traveled to Norway, and they were not only Murmansk residents, but also dwellers of Podvinya, Kargopol, and the villages of the White Sea. The active communication led to the existence of parallels in many areas of culture, in particular, in the construction of wooden churches, woodcarving and book illustrations. For a long time, not only cultural and trade, but also political ties have been established between the countries.
Russian-Danish relations were no less ancient. The first information about the Danes is found in the Novgorod First Chronicle of the years 1130 and 1134. Nevertheless, ties between countries originated much earlier than the XII century, as evidenced by the data of numismatics and linguistics10. They reached significant development in the 15th century. The first Russian-Danish treaty was signed in 1493, which was of an anti-Swedish character. Danish merchants, in comparison with merchants of other countries, received great privileges: they could trade throughout the territory of Russia, they were given two trading yards. Even the Danish government was directly involved in trade. The economic rapprochement between Russia and Denmark had a specific reason. They wanted to get rid of the mediation of the Hansa11. The role of political partnership increased markedly in the 18th century.
So for centuries there have been strong ties between Russia and Scandinavia, including different areas of culture. The production of chest and caskets, which existed in these states for a long time, was no exception12.
Parallels can be traced already at the level of the etymology of words denoting certain chest products, as well as objects associated with them. For example, the Old Russian word «korsta» – «coffin», which has been preserved in some northern dialects, is close not only to the Germanic «kasten» («box»), which goes back to the Latin word «cista» («box»)13, but also the swedish word «kista» («chest»). The Russian word «chest» comes from the ancient Swedish «lárr» («chest», «drawer») and «lår» («box, chest»)14. According to other sources, the ancient swedish word itself could be borrowed from the Old Russian15. One way or another, the etymology of the word «chest» testifies to the existence from an early period of Russian-Swedish ties in the use of chest products, and possibly their production.
In June 2004, in Pskov, in one of the burials of the Viking Age, the remains of a wooden casket were discovered, which dates back to the 10th century16. On its round lid, between four triangular iron plates, there were bronze plates decorated in the Jelling style17. An iron ring with a diameter of 4.5 cm is attached in the middle of the lid. The lid is bordered by a rim of nails with wide heads. The lock was placed in the wall of the casket. Its analogue were found in Birka18.The considered casket testifies to one of the ways of getting Scandinavian products to Russia and their existence here since ancient times. This provided an opportunity for direct interaction between Russian and Scandinavian traditions in the production of chest and caskets. Let us consider several of their types19.
In museums of Russia there are items, which are called trunks (“baul” in Russian). They were taken along on trips. The trunks are of different sizes. Their body is cylindrical, the lid is on top, on the sides there are small curly handles. As a rule, such items were covered with the skins of sea animals, upholstered with slotted iron strips. In front there was a curly iron plate that protected the key hole. The collection of the Department of folk art of the Russian Museum contains a similar item dating from the 18th century20. Five iron strips with a cut ornamentation consisting of a row of “cucumbers”21 are attached on its oak base, in front there is a cast hinge.
Many similar items made in Sweden and called chests («kista») can be found in museums in different cities of this country, for example, in Kalmar22. As an example, we give a product at the inventory number KLM 2146623. It has a cylindrical shape and is covered with seal skin. Thin iron strips are nailed on top, wide at the edges. There is no slit ornament on them. In the middle there is a square metal plate. There is no lock. This chest has wrought iron handle on each side. The inside of the chest is upholstered with unpainted linen. Similar things were done in Denmark24.
Together with the complete similarity of the designs of Russian and Scandinavian items, there are obvious differences in decoration. The slotted ornament of Russian chests consists of ornamental figures borrowed from oriental fabrics that came to Russia in abundance in the 17th century. There is no cut ornament on swedish items (with the exception of a few dates included in the strips; these can be considered as a kind of decoration). The ornamentation is focused on wide strips that are placed along the edges of the items: they are given a wave-like shape25.
Another striking example is the so-called “podgolovnik”. There is a “podgolovnik” in the collection of Department of folk art26, manufactured in 1750. This item is of considerable size (34x55x42), the outer surfaces of which are upholstered with leather and smooth iron strips, located “in a cage”. Inside each “cell” there are slotted rosettes with mica lining. In the corners of the lid and the top wall there are slotted strips in the form of triangles. On the face of the lock, in a zigzag frame, the inscription is engraved: “1750 September 23rd day of srk ivan chyupyatov”. There are forged handles on the side walls. Inside “podgolovnik” there are twelve compartments, eight of which are with drawers. The podgolovnik, probably of Kholmogory origin, is notable for its durability, solidity and reliability. The symmetry of the ornament, its clarity, “calculated” contribute to this impression. The main thing for the master was the direct purpose of the product as a repository of valuable things and documents. The general artistic solution of the podgolovnik is characterized by masculine roughness, severity, against the background of which all the ornamental delights look like optional additions.
Norwegian «podgolovnik»27 dates back to 1751. It has a similar design, but slightly different proportions (actually another wall serves as its base). The lid rises with iron curly hinges, on the sides there are simple cast handles. The chest has several shelves from the inside (not preserved). The surfaces of the product (except for the back and side ones) are divided into rectangular segments, in each of which there is a picturesque composition consisting of images of bouquets framed blue. They are painted in the fast, improvised manner of Norwegian wood painting. The rest of the surfaces are painted red. On the edges of the lid there are inscriptions in white paint: «Ek Ols Domis (?)