Painted Chest of Algiers
In Algeria, craftsmanship is multiple and varied as it diversifies in its shapes, colors, styles, materials and regions. In this rich range, wood decoration constitutes an activity which reflects and conveys in a very beautiful way two values of our traditional craftsmanship: aesthetic demands and practical utility.
Thus, bridal chests among city dwellers or paper chests, as most call them, were among the objects that the woman, future wife, had to bring when she joined her husband's household. It had an appreciable family, if not social, function: linen, precious objects and jewelry were stored there.
Wedding traditions have perpetuated the existence of the chest whose symbolic and practical value has never ceased to be transmitted within Algiers customs. Although small in size, the chest, always flat, offers a rich range of colors and patterns as is this craft whose durability and beauty neither time nor taste has been able to alter.
Just like the bride's chest, the large mirror with a large frame was present in every home regardless of the social rank of its occupants. If it stood out for its large size and surface area, it was mainly due to the concern that the Algiers women had for the elegance of their appearance and their silhouette and for the beauty of their person.
Indeed, putting on makeup from their heads to their fifth toes, they needed a large mirror where they appeared from head to toe. Finally, it is known that practical life in the old days did not require as much furniture as it does now; there were no cabinets or coat racks, but rather shelves, copper objects, carved and ornate candlesticks and even shelves designed for decoration and to hold trinkets and objects of art.
Often located at the entrance, these shelves, real exhibition galleries, were always well worked and enriched with motifs of the most beautiful decorative effect.
Thus, bridal chests among city dwellers or paper chests, as most call them, were among the objects that the woman, future wife, had to bring when she joined her husband's household. It had an appreciable family, if not social, function: linen, precious objects and jewelry were stored there.
Wedding traditions have perpetuated the existence of the chest whose symbolic and practical value has never ceased to be transmitted within Algiers customs. Although small in size, the chest, always flat, offers a rich range of colors and patterns as is this craft whose durability and beauty neither time nor taste has been able to alter.
Just like the bride's chest, the large mirror with a large frame was present in every home regardless of the social rank of its occupants. If it stood out for its large size and surface area, it was mainly due to the concern that the Algiers women had for the elegance of their appearance and their silhouette and for the beauty of their person.
Indeed, putting on makeup from their heads to their fifth toes, they needed a large mirror where they appeared from head to toe. Finally, it is known that practical life in the old days did not require as much furniture as it does now; there were no cabinets or coat racks, but rather shelves, copper objects, carved and ornate candlesticks and even shelves designed for decoration and to hold trinkets and objects of art.
Often located at the entrance, these shelves, real exhibition galleries, were always well worked and enriched with motifs of the most beautiful decorative effect.