Chests of Drawers through the Centuries – Furniture from the Collection of the Cultural History Museum in Dubrovnik

The exhibition has been produced by Dubrovnik Museums, Cultural History Museum.

The exhibition presents twenty-five chests of drawers from the holdings of the Cultural History Museum as well as several specimens from other collections, showing the development, in terms of typology, morphology and style, of this type of furniture, still holding its own in homes today. They were made during the period from the 17^th to the end of the 19^th century, while those from the 18^th are numerically preponderant, for at that time there were the greatest advances in the decorative, constructional and functional development of the chest of drawers, turning into the most prestigious piece of furniture of the century.

The chests are exhibited in chronological order, from the beginnings in the early Baroque up to the Historicist or Revivalist period. They appear as individual works of applied art and as complex and demanding products of the fine crafts, showing diverse decorative techniques in wood and formal approaches. They tell us of the skills of the carpenter, and the artistry of the cabinet-markers of that time, who were mostly just anonymous makers, seldom rising to the level of an author who would sign his work.

In the exhibition, a valuable unit from the collection of furniture of the Cultural History Museum is presented to the public, which usually has no access to these pieces.

Exhibition created by Pavica Vilać
Exhibition set up by Rašić + Vrabec