The production of chests in Europe was common in the Medieval and Renaissance periods and continued into the eighteenth century. Many were made as marriage or dower chests, in which the bride would bring her trousseau to her husband’s house, where the chest would be put on prominent display in a public area. This function is often indicated by the high artistic quality of the decoration and by the inclusion of secular motifs such as the now-unidentifiable painted coats of arms on the front and side panels of this Dumbarton Oaks chest. These coats of arms would indicate the heraldry of the families of the married
couple. The construction and design of this piece, executed in polychromed and parcelgilt wood, is closely related to a number of examples that were frequently produced in Catalonia and on the eastern coast of Spain.

The broad central upright that separates the front panels is ornamented with carved and gilt Gothic tracery motifs. The right door conceals a nest of drawers, similarly ornamented with carved and gilt tracery motifs, in which the bride would store her jewels and small textiles. The top drawer is inoperable and is accessed from above. The carved and gilt arabesque tracery motifs on the interior of the right door are typical of late-fifteenthcentury Spanish examples. The left front panel is inoperable and behind it is a deep compartment, accessed from above, for the storage of textiles, including clothing. The interior of the chest’s lid is decorated with a painted trompe l’oeil coffering motif.

The chest is said to have originally rested upon a red velvet-covered platform base, the location of which is not known. However, few other examples from the period are elevated on a raised platform or dais of any kind.

J. Carder

Bühl, Gudrun, editor. Dumbarton Oaks, The Collections. Washington, DC: Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection (distributed by Harvard University Press), 2008, 316f, ill.

"Spanish Rugs and Textiles and Castles in Spain," The Textile Museum, Washington, DC, October 12, 1963 to January 15, 1964.

Purchased from Arthur Byne (1883-1930), Madrid (dealer) (inv. no. 3920) by Mildred and Robert Woods Bliss, 10/13/1930.

Collection of Mildred and Robert Woods Bliss, Washington, D.C., 10/13/1930-11/29/1940.

Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, House Collection, Washington, D.C.