Furniture

Chests

General Features

The chest is the luxury storage item par excellence. It is made of walnut, maple or other hardwood and decorated on the front and, more rarely, the sides. It is supported on two elongated horizontal feet and the lid is always flat. Cretan household chests are completely different to travelling trunks, which are much smaller and usually have a curved lid. The chest is used to store fabrics, clothing and valuable items, and therefore has a lock. It is placed on the upper floor, or somewhere out of sight in single-storey buildings. In families with many children, the mother makes up a child’s bed on the lid.

The dimensions of the chest are fairly constant:

• Length 150-170 cm
• Width 55-60 cm
• Height 50-60 cm

There are metal handles on the sides to lift the chest when it is empty. In Crete we find both locally-made chests and many imports from other parts of Greece, particularly the islands.

Decorative Typography

We will begin by presenting characteristic Cretan chests, followed by some examples of imported furniture.

Moulded chests

These chests are relatively low-cost as they are made of pinewood. The decoration is made of strips of the same wood, fluted and applied to the front panel in geometrical patterns. The feet are wide, protrude by 5 to 10 cm and are grooved to resemble lions’ paws.

The commonest decoration is stylized cypress trees, suns and, more rarely, diamonds. The positioning of the designs is absolutely symmetrical. The front of the chest may be made of a single piece to which the decorative elements are applied, or divided by vertical mouldings into two or three panels, on which the joiner places the applied carvings.

Geographically, this type of chest is only found in central Crete, but we have been unable to determine the origin of this design and when it appeared in Crete.

Incised Chests

The most widespread Cretan-made chests are of walnut, mulberry or other hardwoods. These naturally last a lot longer than the previous kind. There is relatively superficial decoration using a gouger or other similar tool. The feet are rarely preserved, as they wear out during the long life of the chest and are not replaced.

The rudimentary decoration covers the whole front of the chest. Designs include cypress trees, six-petalled rosettes, diamonds, triangles or wavy lines framing the central themes. There may also be figurative designs such as flowers, flowering pots or Arab-style metal vessels (teapots or coffeepots). The decorative style and most elements are reminiscent of the middle years of the Venetian occupation (14th-15th centuries).

Carved Chests

These are rarely found in rural Crete. The Historical Museum of Crete in Heraklion amassed a remarkable collection of very old chests in the early 60s, before the island was ransacked by antique dealers. These chests had been imported from other parts of Greece famous for their woodcarving, particularly the Aegean islands of Skyros and Mytilene.

The decoration is in bas-relief and always symmetrical. There are many themes, especially plant motifs, followed by bird motifs such as the double-headed eagle, the ibis and other birds, and also a horse and a wild goat. In one case there is a design of a building reminiscent of similar depictions on Minoan wall paintings and carved or incised ceramic objects.

Metal decoration

The collection of the Historical Museum also contains two distinctive chests decorated with metal bands and thin semi-circular nails. The metal escutcheon or keyhole fitting is in the shape of an octopus.

Interior painted decoration

One of these two chests has a plant motif painted on the lid. Painted decoration such as ships, plants etc. is very common on 19th-century Greek chests.