On the front side there is a metal mask. During the period when the engraving was created, many similar caskets were made in the Netherlands, so the artist probably had a sample in front of him. The engraving of Abraham Boss «The Footman Following the Decree of 1633»88 depicts a chest in which a servant puts his master’s suits. This is a large chest with a sloping lid, upholstered with fabric. From the inside and along the edges it is reinforced with iron strips. The front wall is narrowed down. On the sides there are molded handles of a simple shape.
Images of chests were found not only in painting and engraving, but also in miniature. On one of the sheets of the book «Très belles Heures» (c. 1400)89, previously owned by the younger brother of Charles V, Duke de Berry, there is a scene of the birth of John the Baptist and below it is «The Baptism of Christ». In the first scene the main role is played by the landscape, but the second one represents the Flemish interior. Among the wooden furniture and metal utensils, a «sarcophagus» chest is depicted. This is one of the most ancient types of chests. It is interesting to note that it completely repeats the image of the above-mentioned work by Hieronymus Bosch (except that it has two headings, and not one, like a merchant’s chest). Storing various household items it stands opposite the bed of the woman in labor. Considering that after the creation of this miniature, almost a century passed before the appearance of Bosch’s painting, it must be stated that the «sarcophagus» type of chests is not only one of the most ancient, but also one of the most stable types of chest products. Probably, this was facilitated by the simplicity of design and the harmony of proportions, found by the masters quite early90.
On one of the sheets of the manuscript collection (c. 1457—1530), stored in the British Library91, three chests are shown. Red one has straight walls and a sloping lid, upholstered with strips of iron; on the front wall there is a figured metal plate. The other represents a typical travel «bag». Such things will later be done in many European countries and in Russia. The third type is the so-called «chest – teremok». It is painted red and upholstered with iron strips. There are no decorations on the examined items. The dimensions of the products are unlikely to correspond to the real ones. The miniature testifies not only to the wide distribution of chest products in England of that period, but also to their diversity.
We must also mention a page from a book (c. 1480)92, owned by Mary of Burgundy, on which the artist Nicholas Spiering depicts one of the scenes of the Passion of Christ. Below it there are images of various objects, among which you can see a small turquoise box. It has a high sloping lid and straight walls (no legs). The surfaces of the box are most likely upholstered with velvet, placed under thin iron strips, the ends of which resemble the shape of lilies. On the front wall there is a rectangular face made of brass (internal lock). The hinge is located on the lid. The inside of the box is either painted or also upholstered with velvet (red). Since the lid is open, you can see what was stored in the box. These are women’s items, a scarf and jewelry. Despite the fact that this miniature cannot be used to judge the design of the casket, its shape and decoration can be seen quite clearly.
II
In Russia, as in European countries, chest products became widespread very early. One of the first mentions is found in «Izbornik of Svyatoslav» (1076)93. In Novgorod birch-bark documents of the 12th century, there are references to chests and boxes.94. Images of large chests that are used as a bench are found in miniatures of the Radziwill Chronicle (end of the 15th century). There you can also see a chest with a sloping lid and a chest with a gable roof95. Russian icon painting did not avoid images of chests. On the icon «Christ the Almighty on the throne, in 28 scenes» by Semyon Spiridonov Kholmogorets96, originating from Yaroslavl and dating from about 1682, a large chest is depicted. It has straight walls and a sloping lid, upholstered with tin sheets with a picturesque ornament consisting of plant motifs. The front side and the cover are divided into two equal parts, side walls are divided into four parts. This image indicates that already in the 17th century there were chests of the type that would become widespread in Russia much later.
In numerous icons depicting St. Panteleimon, a chest is depicted, which the healer holds in his hands. It is necessary to point out not this peculiarity of iconography, but the variety of caskets. They can be depicted large and small, with a flat lid and gable, painted and carved, with or without legs. This testifies to the wide prevalence of this type of chest products.
Several chest centers developed in Russia over time, such as Kholmogory and Veliky Ustyug, the Middle Urals, the city of Makaryev, Nizhny Novgorod province. The works of local masters were popular among Russian painters.
The works of the masters from Kholmogor and Veliky Ustyug were most vividly reflected on the historical canvases of Konstantin Makovsky «Boyar wedding feast in the 17th century» (1883)97, «Minin on the square of Nizhny Novgorod…» (1890s)98. The artist carefully depicted chests, coffers and caskets. These are typical products of northern craftsmen, upholstered with wrought iron with colored linings. Makovsky, as a rule, depicted items historically authentically. But on the canvas «Minin on Nizhny Novgorod Square…» one can see a large red chest made in the second half of the 19th century (most likely in the Murom district). It was the time of the dominance of manufactories. However, this anachronism does not interfere with the perception of the canvas.
Another major center of Russian chest production was the factory settlements of the Middle Urals. It is known that the Ural chest is depicted on the canvas of the artist N.D. Dmitriev-Orenburgskij «The fire in the village», dating from 187999. It is among other household items rescued by the peasants from the fire. The artist scrupulously drew the details of the shape and decor of the chest. It is rectangular, with a slightly sloping lid, upholstered with slotted metal plates and floral ornaments made using the embossing technique. The front wall is divided into three fields: two wide and one narrow. Each contains «mirrors», i.e. pieces of polished iron. The decoration of the sides repeats the decor of the front in an abbreviated form. In general, the depicted chest is a typical work of the Ural masters of the second half of the 19th century.
There is evidence that influenced by the Ural products brought to the local fair in the 18th century, residents of the city of Makaryeva (Nizhny Novgorod province) began to make chests100. The popularity of the Makaryev chests is evidenced by the works of Boris Kustodiev, for example, the sketch «The chest man» (1918), the painting of the same name (1920) and the painting «The merchant» (1923), which depicts numerous chests placed in the form of a «mountain»101. If in the sketch the chests are presented in a generalized way (although one can catch the main motifs and compositions of the painting), then in the paintings the artist carefully drew every detail of their external appearance. Chests serveв as chairs and tables. Large bouquets of flowers are depicted on their front walls, some are decorated with «frozen» tin and strips with embossed ornament.
Artists did not always depict chests with sufficient accuracy. For example, on the canvas of Vasiliy Pukirev «The reception of a dowry in a merchant family by list» (1873)102 a chest is depicted, the reverse side of which is decorated as richly as the front. This has never been the case with products of this type. The combination of refined painting, consisting of plant motifs, with rough metal strips is also not typical for Russian chests.
So