12
Chests and Painted Furniture
The Meadow Invades the Home
Take a journey back in time to explore the history, lifestyle, and techniques around traditional furniture. Our starting point: the chest, a nearly obsolete piece today, yet once essential. We’ll also look at how these items developed to reach a point of cultural significance with the painted Saxon furniture. Looking back through centuries, the chest emerges as an archetypal object, deeply tied to specific life circumstances, sometimes carrying symbolic or even ritual value. The clearest examples are guild and neighborhood chests, which held crucial objects for the community—statutes, member registers, and funds from fees or fines. These chests symbolized the values and organization of the group, and new leaders, such as guild masters or neighborhood fathers, would take their oath in front of them.
Other types of chests included church chests for holding precious religious objects, books, and money; grain chests; transport chests; and, of course, the most iconic type of chest in the region - the dowry chest.
The decoration of chests in Transylvania was particularly complex and reflected local traditions:
The most common designs featured stylized floral motifs such as tulips, roses, and peonies. These flowers symbolized abundance and fertility.
Some chests were adorned with paintings of religious scenes or geometric patterns, symbolizing divine protection. Vivid colors like red, blue, and green were often used.
In addition to painting, the chests could be decorated with carvings or wooden inlays, crafted by skilled artisans.
The locking systems of the chests were ingenious and varied, designed to protect valuable contents. Most chests were equipped with sturdy wrought iron locks with complex mechanisms to ensure security. Padlocks were also popular, featuring customized keys for each chest, adding a unique touch. In some cases, chests had simple yet effective latch systems, mainly used for transport chests.
Initially crafted by carpenters, these chests had a simple design—made from hard deciduous wood, split with axes and finished with hatchets, joined by tongue-and-groove construction and wooden pegs. Most had carved or chiseled decorations made with simple tools, sometimes painted as well. In the 14th-15th centuries, mechanical sawmills enabled more precise woodworking, introducing planks as we know them today. Wooden panels for chests became more refined, often made from softwood panels joined with dovetail joints.
The chest design continued to evolve as the surfaces demanded more intricate treatment, both to cover knots and protect the wood. Meanwhile, apprentices traveled to Western Europe to learn new techniques, returning to Transylvania with a wave of craftsmanship that spread quickly—painted furniture.
The newly formed guild of painters and carpenters decorated chests and other items with floral, animal, human, or architectural motifs. A notable feature of Saxon furniture was inscriptions, often including the year of creation and, on chests, the initials or full name of the owner. This painted and carved furniture became common in Saxon homes: benches, tables, chairs, cabinets, coat racks, and chests of drawers, all brightly painted and adorned with patterns that reflected the personality of their owners.
With time, these painters split from carpenters into an autonomous guild, primarily supplying religious pieces for churches. After the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century, they crafted and painted wooden pieces for church interiors, meeting a significant community need.
Returning to the archetypal chest, it eventually evolved, gaining a drawer on the lower side and slowly transforming into the chest of drawers or sideboard we recognize today. This all reminds us of a simpler world where the chest solved many practical and symbolic needs. Today, it remains a fairy-tale element, a symbol of a hidden, wondrous world.
An immersive history of joiner’s chests awaits you in Brădeni, not far from Agnita, 50 kilometers from here. After the fortified church was built in the 16th century, Brădeni established a “village treasury” in the church attic, a place difficult for intruders to access. Hundreds of chests, one or more per household, held the most valuable possessions. A significant number of these chests survive, with the oldest dating back over 500 years.
Simion Florea Marian, a renowned Romanian ethnologist, wrote in his works about the importance of the dowry chest in the lives of 19th-century women, stating that "The dowry chest is not only a repository of the most valuable fabrics but also a symbol of hope and dreams for a young bride, reflecting the hard work and dedication of her family."
The writer and historian of religions, Mircea Eliade, noted in his studies on Romanian traditions that "The dowry chest is an altar of femininity, preserving not only material objects but also memories and traditions that connect generations."
Let us reflect on what our generation is placing inside real or immaterial dowry chests, for the generations to come.
Text by Andrei Tache and Alexandra Mihailciuc, documented and written during the 2024 Heritage Lab workshop. Audio guide by Designers, Thinkers, Makers Association and the Municipality of Biertan, part of the Culture & Cultures: Connecting the Dots project, co-funded by the National Cultural Fund Administration.
Tur audio realizat în cadrul proiectului Culture&Cultures. Connecting the dots în anul 2024.
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