Caroline Stone

We all use them. Most fasten; some decorate. A search for origins points toward the Indus Valley and China. By the Middle Ages, buttons reached Europe along with other garment techniques and fashion influences from lands east. Their stories are as interwoven as the textiles they make possible and as varied as their infinite designs.

Wooden chests have been carved, painted, studded with metals and inlaid with colorful woods and mother-of-pearl for centuries, producing heirlooms from West Africa to the Middle East, India and Indonesia. Many of the most elaborate ones were produced to hold a woman’s dowry.

きれいに塗装され、彫刻が施され、金属の鋲が打たれ、きれいな木材や真珠のインレイが施された木製の収納箱は、西アフリカから中東、インド、およびインドネシアにおいて、代々伝わる家宝となってきました。中でも最も手の込んだものは、女性’の花嫁道具として生産されてきました。

수 세기 동안 나무 장은 조각, 채색되고 금속으로 세공되었으며, 색감 있는 나무와 자개로 장식하여 서아프리카부터 중동, 인도 및 인도네시아에 이르기까지 귀중한 가보로 생산되었다. 가장 정교하게 제작된 장은 여성용 다우리 장이다.

木箱经过雕刻和上漆，并镶嵌金属、彩木及珍珠母，历经数百年，成为了遍及西非到中东、印度和印度尼西亚等地的传家宝。其中很多工艺最为精湛的盒子被用来盛放女性的嫁妆。