Wooden Chests In Traditional Culture Of Dalmatia

Sa？etak Wooden chests with carved decorations characterized by the symmetry of motifs were made and used in Dalmatia until the beginning of the 20th century. They were used for storing clothes, fabrics, money and various precious items. After getting married, girls would take them to their new home as a part of their dowry. In the collection of the Split Ethnographic Museum there are 43 whole chests and 39 decorative chest fronts. Most of them belong to the Adriatic and Dinaric types of chests, while some of the chests can be considered the Adriatic-Dinaric chests, because of the coexisting rural and urban influences. Basic carved decorations include vases with flowers, birds, cypresses and geometric motifs. Since there are no exact data on who carved and painted them, chest decorations are considered to be the work of anonymous masters, woodcarvers and woodcutters from the 18th and 19th centuries