See also:

• CHEST (Gr. Kiarl, Lat. cista, O. Eng. cist, test, &c.)

CHEST (Gr. Kiarl, See also:

• LAT

Lat. cista, O. Eng. See also:

• CIST (Gr. ,dorn, Lat. cista, a box; cf. Ger. Kiste, Welsh kistvaen, stone-coffin, and also the other Eng. form " chest ")

cist, test, &c.)  , a large See also:

• BOX
• BOX (Gr. irl or, Lat. buxus, box-wood; cf. 2r6Eir, a pyx)

box of See also:

• WOOD, ANTHONY A2 (1632-1695)
• WOOD, JOHN GEORGE (1827—1889)
• WOOD, MRS HENRY [ELLEN] (1814—1887)
• WOOD, SEARLES VALENTINE (1798—188o)

wood or See also:

• METAL
• METAL (through Fr. from Lat. metallum, mine, quarry, adapted from Gr. µATaXAov, in the same sense, probably connected with ,ueraAAdv, to search after, explore, µeTa, after, aAAos, other)

metal with a hinged lid . The See also:

• TERM

term is also used of a variety of kinds of receptacle; and in See also:

• ANATOMY
• ANATOMY (Gr. avaroyil, from ava-silo c', to cut up)

anatomy is transferred to the portion of the See also:

• BODY

body covered by the ribs and breastbone (see See also:

• RESPIRATORY

RESPIRATORY See also:

• SYSTEM

SYSTEM) . In the more See also:

• ORDINARY (med. Lat. ordinarius, Fr. ordinaire)

ordinary meaning chests are, next to the See also:

• CHAIR (in. Mid. Eng. chcere, through O. Fr. chaire or chaiere, from Lat. cathedra, later caledra, Gr. xaOi3pa, seat, cf. "cathedral"; the modern Fr. form chaise, a chair, has been adopted in English with a particular meaning as a form of carriage; chaire

chair and the See also:

• BED
• BED (a common Teutonic word, cf. German Bett, probably connected with the Indo-European root bhodh, seen in the Lat. fodere, to dig; so " a dug-out place " for safe resting, or in the same sense as a garden " bed ")

bed, the most See also:

• ANCIENT
• ANCIENT (also spelt ANTIENT; derived, through the Fr. ancien, old, from the late Lat. antianum, from ante, before)

ancient articles of domestic See also:

• FURNITURE (from " furnish," Fr. fournir)

furniture . The See also:

• CHEST (Gr. Kiarl, Lat. cista, O. Eng. cist, test, &c.)

chest was the See also:

• COMMON

common receptacle for clothes and valuables, and was the See also:

• DIRECT

direct ancestor of the " chest of drawers," which was formed by enlarging the chest and cutting up the front . It was also frequently used as a seat . Indeed, in its origin it took in See also:

• GREAT

great measure the See also:

• PLACE (through Fr. from Lat. platea, street; Gr. IrAar6s, wide)

place of the chair, which, although See also:

• FAMILIAR (through the Fr. familier, from Lat. familiaris, of or belonging to the familia, family)

familiar enough to the ancients, had become a luxury in the days when the chest was already an almost universal See also:

• POSSESSION
• POSSESSION (Lat. possessio, possidere, to possess)

possession . The See also:

• CHIEF (from Fr. chef, head, Lat. caput)

chief use of chests was as wardrobes, but they were also often employed for the storing of valuables . In the See also:

• EARLY
• EARLY, JUBAL ANDERSON (1816-1894)

early See also:

• MIDDLE

middle ages the See also:

• RICH, BARNABE (c. 1540-1617)
• RICH, CLAUDIUS JAMES (1787-1821)
• RICH, JOHN (1692-1761)
• RICH, PENELOPE, LADY (c. 1562–1607)
• RICH, RICHARD, 1ST BARON RICH (1490?-1567)

rich possessed them in profusion, used them as portmanteaux,. and carried them about from See also:

• CASTLE
• CASTLE (Lat. castellum, a fort, diminutive of castra, a camp; Fr. chateau and chdtel)

castle to castle . These portable receptacles were often covered with See also:

• LEATHER (a word which appears in all Teutonic languages; cf. Ger. Leder, Dutch leer or leder, Swed. leder, and in such Celtic forms as Welsh llader)
• LEATHER, ARTIFICIAL

leather and emblazoned with heraldic designs, As houses gradually became less sparsely furnished, chests and beds and other movables were allowed to remain stationary, and the chest lost its covered See also:

• TOP (cf. Dan. top, Ger. Topf, also meaning pot)

top, and took the shape in which we best know it that of an oblong box See also:

• STANDING

standing upon raised feet . As a See also:

• RULE

rule it was made of See also:

• OAK (O. Eng., (lc)

oak, but it was sometimes of See also:

• CHESTNUT (nux Castanea)

chestnut or other hard wood . There are, properly speaking, three types of chest—the domestic, the ecclesiastical and the strong box or See also:

• COFFER (Fr. coffee, O. Fr. cofre or cofne, Lat. cophinus, cf. " coffin ")

coffer . Old domestic chests still exist in great number and some variety, but the proportion of those earlier than the latter See also:

• PART

part of the Tudor See also:

• PERIOD
• PERIOD (Gr. irepioSos, a going or way round, circuit, aepi, round, and &Sis, way, road)

period is very small; most of them are Jacobean in date .

Very frequently they were made to contain the See also:

• STORE (from O. Fr. estor or estoire, Late Lat. staurum or instaurum, stock, provisions, supply, from the late use of instaurare, to provide, properly to construct, renew, restore)

store of See also:

• HOUSE
• HOUSE (O. Eng. hiss, a word common to Teutonic languages, cf. Dut. huis, Ger. Haus; in Gothic it is only found in gudhiss, a temple; it may be ultimately connected with the root of " hide," conceal)

house-See also:

• LINEN

linen which a See also:

• BRIDE (a common Teutonic word, e.g..Goth. bruths, O. Eng. bryd, O. H. Ger. prs2t, Mod. Ger. Bract, Dut. bruid, possibly derived from the root bru-, cook, brew; from the med. latinized form bruta, in the sense of daughter-in-law, is derived the Fr. bru)

bride took to her See also:

• HUSBAND

husband upon her See also:

• MARRIAGE

marriage . In the 17th See also:

• CENTURY (from Lat. centuria, a division of a hundred men)

century See also:

• BOULLE, ANDRE CHARLES (1642–1732)

Boulle and his imitators glorified the marriage-coffer until it became a gorgeous See also:

• CASKET

casket, almost indeed a See also:

• SARCOPHAGUS (Gr. vapsorg yos, literally " flesh-eating," from vapt, flesh, ¢ayeiv, to eat)

sarcophagus, inlaid with See also:

• IVORY (Fr. ivoire, Lat. ebur)
• IVORY, SIR JAMES (1765-1842)

ivory and See also:

• EBONY (Gr. E(3evos)

ebony and See also:

• PRECIOUS (O. Fr. precios, mod. precieux, Lat. pretiosus, of high value or price, pretium)

precious See also:

• WOODS, LEONARD (1774-1854)
• WOODS, SIR ALBERT (1816-1904)

woods, and enriched with See also:

• ORMOLU (Fr. or moulu, gold ground or pounded)

ormolu, supported upon a stand of equal magnificence . The See also:

• ITALIAN

Italian marriage-chests (See also:

• CASSONE

cassone) were also of a richness which was never attempted in See also:

• ENGLAND
• ENGLAND, THE CHURCH OF

England . The See also:

• MAIN (from the Aryan root which appears in " may " and " might," and Lat. magnus, great)
• MAIN (Lat. Moenus)

main characteristics of See also:

• ENGLISH

English domestic chests (which not infrequently are carved with names and See also:

• DATES

dates) are panelled fronts and ends, the feet being formed from prolongations of the "See also:

• STILES, EZRA (1727–1795)

stiles" or See also:

• SIDE
• SIDE (mod. Eski Adalia)

side posts . There were, however, exceptions, and a certain number of 17th-century chests have See also:

• SEPARATE

separate feet, either circular or shaped after the indications of a somewhat later See also:

• STYLE
• STYLE (from Gr. a-6'1ms, a column; a different word from that used in literature, see below)

style . There is usually a strong architectural feeling about the chest, the front being divided into panels, which are See also:

• PLAIN (O. Fr. plain, from Lat. plenum)

plain in the more ordinary examples, and richly carved in the choicer ones . The See also:

• PLINTH (Gr. ir)^fvOos, a square tile)

plinth and See also:

• FRIEZE

frieze are often of well-defined See also:

• GUILLOCHE

guilloche See also:

• WORK

work, or are carved with arabesques or conventionalized See also:

• FLOWERS, ARTIFICIAL

flowers . Architectural. detail, especially the detail of wainscoting, has indeed been followed with considerable fidelity, many of the earlier chests being carved in the linenfold See also:

• PATTERN

pattern, while the Jacobean examples are often See also:

• MERE
• MERE, ADALBERT (1838-1909)

mere reproductions of the pilastered and recessed oaken mantelpieces of the period . Occasionally a chest is seen which is inlaid with coloured woods, or with geometrical See also:

• PARQUETRY (Fr. pargqueterie, from parquet, flooring, originally a small compartment)

parquetry . Perhaps the most elaborate type of English parquetry chest is that named after the vanished See also:

• PALACE (Lat. Palatium, the name given by Augustus to his residence on the Palatine Hill)

Palace of Nonesuch . Such pieces are, however, rarely met with . The entire front of this type is covered with a See also:

• REPRESENTATION

representation of the palace in coloured woods .

Another class of chest is incised, some-times rather roughly, but often with considerable geometrical skill . The more ordinary variety has been'of great value to the forger of See also:

• ANTIQUE (Lat. antiquus, old)

antique furniture, who has used its carved panels for See also:

• CONVERSION (Lat. conversio, from convertere, to turn or ,change)

conversion into cupboards and other pieces, the See also:

• HISTORY

history of which is not easily unravelled by the See also:

• AMATEUR (Lat. amator, lover)

amateur who collects old oak without knowing much about it . Towards the end of the 17th century chests were often made of See also:

• WALNUT (Juglans)

walnut, or even of See also:

• EXOTIC (Gr. EWTIK6s, foreign, from few, outside)

exotic woods such as See also:

• CEDAR (Lat. cedrus, Gr. iapos)

cedar and See also:

• CYPRESS (Cupressus)

cypress, and were sometimes clamped with large and ornamental See also:

• BRASS
• BRASS (O. Eng. braes)

brass bands and hinges . The chests of the 18th century were much larger than those of the preceding period, and as often as not were furnished with two drawers at the bottom—an arrangement but rarely seen in those of the 17th century—while they were often fitted with a small See also:

• INTERNAL

internal box fixed across one end for ready See also:

• ACCESS (Lat. accessus)

access to small articles . The chest was not infrequently unpanelled and unornamented, and in the latter period of its history this became the ruling type . It will not have been forgotten that it was in an old oak chest that the real or mythical heroine of the pathetic ballad of " The Mistletoe Bough" concealed herself, to her undoing . Ecclesiastical chests appear to have been used almost entirely as receptacles for See also:

• VESTMENTS

vestments and See also:

• CHURCH
• CHURCH (according to most authorities derived from the Gr. Kvpcaxov [&wµa], " the Lord's [house]," and common to many Teutonic, Slavonic and other languages under various forms—Scottish kirk, Ger. Kirche, Swed. kirka, Dan. kirke, Russ. tserkov, Buig. cerk
• CHURCH, FREDERICK EDWIN (1826-1900)
• CHURCH, GEORGE EARL (1835–1910)
• CHURCH, RICHARD WILLIAM (1815–189o)
• CHURCH, SIR RICHARD (1784–1873)

church See also:

• PLATE

plate, and those which survive are still often employed for the preservation of See also:

• PARISH (Gr. irapouda, district, neighbourhood; 7r&poucos, one dwelling near or beside, from crap&, OtKOS, house; Lat. paroecur, Late Lat. parochia; cf. Fr. paroisse)

parish documents . A considerable variety of these interesting and often exceedingly elaborate chests are still See also:

• LEFT

left in English churches . They are usually of considerable See also:

• SIZE

size, and of a length disproportionate to their See also:

• DEPTH

depth . This no doubt was to facilitate the storage of vestments . Most of them are of great antiquity . Many go back to the 14th century, and here and there they are even earlier, as in the See also:

• CASE
• CASE, JOHN (d. 1600)

case of the coffer in Stoke d'Abernon church, See also:

• SURREY
• SURREY, EARLDOM OF
• SURREY, HENRY HOWARD, EARL OF (1518?-1547)

Surrey, which is unquestionably 13th-century work .

One of the most remarkable of these early examples is in See also:

• NEWPORT

Newport church, See also:

• ESSEX
• ESSEX, ARTHUR CAPEL
• ESSEX, EARLS OF
• ESSEX, KINGDOM OF
• ESSEX, ROBERT DEVEREUX
• ESSEX, ROBERT DEVEREUX, 2ND2 EARL OF (1566-1601)
• ESSEX, WALTER DEVEREUX, IST2 EARL OF (1541–1576)

Essex . It is one of the extremely rare painted coffers of the 13th century, the front carved with an upper See also:

• ROW, JOHN (c. 1525—1580)

row of See also:

• SHIELDS, JAMES (181b-1879)

shields, from which the heraldic See also:

• PAINTING

painting has disappeared, and a See also:

• LOWER

lower row of roundels . Between is a See also:

• BELT (a word common to Teutonic languages, the Old Ger. form being bale, from which the Lat. balteus probably derived)
• BELT, THOMAS (1832-1878)

belt of open See also:

• TRACERY

tracery, probably of See also:

• PEWTER

pewter, and the inside of the lid is decorated with oil paintings representing the Crucifixion, the Virgin See also:

• MARY
• MARY (1457-1482)
• MARY (1496-1533)
• MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS

Mary, St See also:

• PETER
• PETER (Lat. Petrus from Gr. irfpos, a rock, Ital. Pietro, Piero, Pier, Fr. Pierre, Span. Pedro, Ger. Peter, Russ. Petr)
• PETER (PEDRO)
• PETER, EPISTLES OF
• PETER, ST

Peter, St See also:

• JOHN
• JOHN (1167–1216)
• JOHN (1290-c. 1320)
• JOHN (1296-1346)
• JOHN (1371–1419)
• JOHN (1468-1532)
• JOHN (1801-1873)
• JOHN (Heb. llni')
• JOHN (ZAPOLYA) (1487-1540)
• JOHN, 4TH MARQUESS OF TWEEDDALE (c. 1695-1762)
• JOHN, DON (1545-1578)
• JOHN, DON (1629–1679)
• JOHN, GOSPEL OF ST
• JOHN, or HAYS (1513–1571)
• JOHN, THE APOSTLE
• JOHN, THE EPISTLES OF

John and St See also:

• PAUL
• PAUL (PAULUS)

Paul . The well-known " See also:

• JEWEL, JOHN (1522-1571)

jewel chest " in St Mary's, See also:

• OXFORD
• OXFORD, EARLS OF
• OXFORD, EDWARD DE VERE, 17TH EARL
• OXFORD, JOHN DE VERE, 13TH EARL OF (1443-1513)
• OXFORD, PROVISIONS OF
• OXFORD, ROBERT DE VERE, 9TH EARL OF (1362-1392)
• OXFORD, ROBERT HARLEY, 1ST

Oxford, is one of the earliest examples of 14th century work . Many of these ecclesiastical chests are carved with architectural motives—traceried windows most frequently, but occasionally with the linenfold pattern . There is a whole class of chests known as " tilting coffers," carved with representations of tournaments or feats of arms, and sometimes with a See also:

• GROTESQUE

grotesque admixture of chivalric figures and mythical monsters . Only five or six examples of this type are known still to exist in England, and two of them are now in the See also:

• VICTORIA
• VICTORIA (or VITTORIA), TOMMASSO LUDOVICO DA (C. I540-C. 1613)
• VICTORIA [ALEXANDRINA VICTORIA]

Victoria and See also:

• ALBERT
• ALBERT (1490'1545)
• ALBERT (149o-1568)
• ALBERT (1522–1557)
• ALBERT (FRANCIS CHARLES AUGUSTUS ALBERT EMMANUEL) (1819—1861)
• ALBERT (FRIEDRICH RUDOLF ALBRECHT)
• ALBERT, FREDERICK AUGUSTUS
• ALBERT, MADAME (c. 2805—2846)

Albert Museum . It is not certain that even these few are of English origin —indeed, very many of the chests and coffers of the 16th and 17th centuries are of See also:

• FOREIGN

foreign make . They were imported into England chiefly from See also:

• FLANDERS (Flem. Vlaanderen)

Flanders, and were subsequently carved by native artisans, as was the case with other common pieces of furniture of those periods . The huche or " hutch " was a rough type of See also:

• HOUSEHOLD, ROYAL

household chest . The word " coffer " is properly applied to a chest which was intended for the safe keeping of valuables . As a rule the coffer is much more massive in construction than the domestic chest; it is clamped by See also:

• IRON [symbol Fe, atomic weight 55.85 (0=16)]

iron bands, sometimes contains See also:

• SECRET (Lat. secretum, hidden, concealed)

secret receptacles opening with a concealed See also:

• SPRING (from " to spring," " to leap or jump up," " burst out," O. Eng., springau, a common Teut. word, cf. Ger. springer, possibly allied to Gr. QnrFpxecOac, to move rapidly)

spring, and is often furnished with an elaborate and complex See also:

• LOCK (from the O. Eng. loc.; the word appears, in different forms, in many Teutonic languages, but with such various meanings as " hole," Ger. Loch, " lid," Swed. lock, &c.; probably the original was a root meaning " to enclose ")
• LOCK, MATTHIAS

lock, which occupies the whole of the underside of the lid .

Pieces of this type are sometimes described as See also:

• SPANISH

Spanish chests, from the belief that they were taken from See also:

• SHIPS

ships belonging to the See also:

• ARMADA, THE

Armada . It is impossible to say that this may not sometimes have been the case, but these strong boxes are frequently of English origin, although the mechanism of the locks may have been due to the subtle skill of foreign locksmiths . A typical example of the treasure chest is that which belongedto See also:

• SIR

Sir See also:

• THOMAS
• THOMAS (c. 1654-1720)
• THOMAS (d. 110o)
• THOMAS, ARTHUR GORING (1850-1892)
• THOMAS, CHARLES LOUIS AMBROISE (1811-1896)
• THOMAS, GEORGE (c. 1756-1802)
• THOMAS, GEORGE HENRY (1816-187o)
• THOMAS, ISAIAH (1749-1831)
• THOMAS, PIERRE (1634-1698)
• THOMAS, SIDNEY GILCHRIST (1850-1885)
• THOMAS, ST
• THOMAS, THEODORE (1835-1905)
• THOMAS, WILLIAM (d. 1554)

Thomas See also:

• BODLEY, GEORGE FREDERICK (1827-1907)
• BODLEY, SIR THOMAS (1545-1613)

Bodley, and is preserved in the Bodleian library at Oxford . The locks of this description of chest are of See also:

• STEEL, FLORA ANNIE (1847– )

steel, and are sometimes richly damascened . It was for being implicated in the breaking open and robbing of just such a chest as this, to which the See also:

• COLLEGE (Collegium)

College de See also:

• NAVARRE (Span. Navarra)

Navarre had confided See also:

• COIN
• COIN (older forms of the word are coyne, quoin and coign, all derived through the O. Fr. coing, and cuigne from Lat. cuneus, a wedge)

coin to the value of 500 ecus, that See also:

• FRANCOIS (1558-1614)

Francois See also:

• VILLON, FRANCOIS (1431-c. 1463)

Villon was hanged on the gibbet of See also:

• MONTFAUCON, BERNARD DE (1655-1741)

Montfaucon .