Exhibition description

Forged chest

A chest-treasury from the 17th – early 18th centuries, which belonged to the highest Cossack officers, probably had a connection to the Kochubei family and was transferred to the Troitskaya Church. It was transferred in the 1930s to the Nikolskaya Church in the village of Dykanka.

The chest is covered with sheet metal on the outside and inside, which is attached to the frame by applying longitudinal and transverse parallel metal fittings to the walls, bottom and lid. The metal fittings are decorated with forged five-petal flowers, lily buds, and, less commonly, eight-petal rosettes with engraved veins, stripes, etc. The fittings divide the flat surfaces of the chest into a grid of squares, which contain a five-petalled flower with leaves and part of a stem (on the walls), and similar flowers and stylised lily buds (on the lid) are placed alternately. The oval hinged profiled handles of the chest are also covered with an intricate pattern. The handles are attached to the chest with curved hinges, which are held on the walls with curved washers in the form of four-petalled flowers with cross-shaped petals.