Since the ancient times, every household had a storage chest: people stored clothes, fur, and other valuables, such as swords, daggers, and other weapons, placed in separate boxes. And for smaller items — accessories, jewelry, buttons, threads, and beads — smaller chests and jewelry boxes were used.
Initially, such boxes were simple wooden boxes with a lid. However, over time, people began to decorate them with drawings, carvings, semi-precious stones inlays. The lids of the boxes depicted stories from fairy tales, landscapes, and views of Russian towns.
The Shemogod masters of the Velikoustyugsky district carved into birch bark beautiful ornaments called birch bark lace. The wooden boxes, as well as birch baskets, tobacco boxes, plates, and other objects were decorated with birch bark lace. Since the 19th century, boxes made out of papier-mâché — pressed paper pulp mixed with glue — were very valuable. Artists and icon-painters from the village of Fedoskino near Moscow decorated their products with miniature copies of famous Russian and European paintings.
The inside of the boxes was upholstered with satin or some other fabric. Therefore, the box itself could be more expensive than what was placed in it. To protect the contents from thieves, the boxes were locked and had a secret double and even triple bottom.
Later, this accessory could be made out of other materials: stone, ceramics, metal. The boxes were custom-made for a specific purpose. There also were souvenir boxes with clocks and musical mechanisms. Others could be used for storing jewelry, sweets, travel accessories, legal documents, or diaries.
There were also boxes for needlework equipment: in pre-revolutionary times, it was believed that every girl should be able to sew, embroider or knit. Such products were made out of wood. Inside, a special holder for tools, upholstered with fabric, was placed. Aristocratic women used tools made out of precious metals, like gold or silver. The handles of the objects were decorated with enamels, precious or semi-precious stones.
The box, displayed in the Yershov Museum Complex of Ishim City, entered the collection in 1992. It was donated by Vladimir Filippov. Inside, one can see a complete kit for needlework, consisting of mother-of-pearl needle holders, scissors, bobbins, an awl, a small knife, as well as a small ball of thread. A musical mechanism was hidden under the panel, which could be wound up with a key.
Initially, such boxes were simple wooden boxes with a lid. However, over time, people began to decorate them with drawings, carvings, semi-precious stones inlays. The lids of the boxes depicted stories from fairy tales, landscapes, and views of Russian towns.
The Shemogod masters of the Velikoustyugsky district carved into birch bark beautiful ornaments called birch bark lace. The wooden boxes, as well as birch baskets, tobacco boxes, plates, and other objects were decorated with birch bark lace. Since the 19th century, boxes made out of papier-mâché — pressed paper pulp mixed with glue — were very valuable. Artists and icon-painters from the village of Fedoskino near Moscow decorated their products with miniature copies of famous Russian and European paintings.
The inside of the boxes was upholstered with satin or some other fabric. Therefore, the box itself could be more expensive than what was placed in it. To protect the contents from thieves, the boxes were locked and had a secret double and even triple bottom.
Later, this accessory could be made out of other materials: stone, ceramics, metal. The boxes were custom-made for a specific purpose. There also were souvenir boxes with clocks and musical mechanisms. Others could be used for storing jewelry, sweets, travel accessories, legal documents, or diaries.
There were also boxes for needlework equipment: in pre-revolutionary times, it was believed that every girl should be able to sew, embroider or knit. Such products were made out of wood. Inside, a special holder for tools, upholstered with fabric, was placed. Aristocratic women used tools made out of precious metals, like gold or silver. The handles of the objects were decorated with enamels, precious or semi-precious stones.
The box, displayed in the Yershov Museum Complex of Ishim City, entered the collection in 1992. It was donated by Vladimir Filippov. Inside, one can see a complete kit for needlework, consisting of mother-of-pearl needle holders, scissors, bobbins, an awl, a small knife, as well as a small ball of thread. A musical mechanism was hidden under the panel, which could be wound up with a key.
