Sergey Chekhov, whose family kept the wooden casket “Children Playing”, is the son of Anton Chekhov’s younger brother, Mikhail. Sergey was three years old when his famous uncle died. He graduated from the Imperial Academy of Arts, taught at the Moscow Art Theater School, and became an illustrator and curator of the family archives. He was 13 years old in 1914, so it is quite probable that he was the one to give this casket as a present.
The word “shkatulka” meaning “a casket” appeared in the Russian language in the 16th century. It is also found in many Slavonic languages. Some researchers suggest that it originated from the Latin word “scatula”, which means “a box”.
Back in the old days, small decorative boxes were kept in every Russian house. They were made of wood and decorated with carvings or paintings. Simpler caskets were often made of linden, but as the craft developed, other materials such as precious metals, porcelain, and ivory came into use as well. Rare, expensive caskets could be made in the shape of people, birds, and animals.
“Extremely expensive caskets depict the economic position
of the colony just about as little as the fact that one settled exile in the south
collects whalebone on the shore, and another gathers up trepangas”, Anton
Chekhov wrote in his book “Sakhalin Island” after observing the talented craftsmen
who had been condemned to hard labor in exile.
