Caixa de núvia (bridal chest) — Traditional Mallorcan object

What is

The chest where the bride carried her trousseau (aixovar) from her parents' house to her husband's. The DCVB defines it as "the large box that the bride brings home when she marries, but if she has it, she steals it." It was furniture, contract and assets: what the woman brought to the marriage.

Warning: almost everything published refers to Catalonia. I have not located Mallorcan specimens studied or cataloged (to verify in the Museum of Mallorca and in Mallorcan notarial inventories).

How is

Mallorcan fact: in Palma, canterano also means the bride's trousseau (DCVB). In Mallorca the dowry piece of furniture is the chest of drawers: see canterano .
In the possession of Gabriel Cerdà (1491) the caixes are integrated into the archibanks and there is a "caxa de taula de Vanècia" (BSAL 2017).

Catalan typology (Viquipèdia, after Eva Pascual i Miró):

Buc (body) of four one-piece boards joined with a dovetail, with the bottom nailed.
Raised on a molded plinth, decorated on the front and sides.
Lid with pany (lock).
Wood: poplar and, in quality pieces such as bridal pieces, walnut.
Decoration: glued moldings that frame ceilings, openwork tracery; remains of red paint (minium); later, paint and gilding.
Since the middle of the 15th century, the right soffit becomes a door with three drawers below and one above: the germ of the calaixera.

How is fa

Work of fuster or caixer. In Barcelona, in 1434, there was already specialization between caixers and cofrers (Viquipèdia).
Dovetail assembly, without nails in the corners.
In Mallorca: own workshops, wood (pine, walnut, olive) and decoration, to verify.

Com s'usa

It was filled for years with bedding, table linens, shirts and pieces sewn or embroidered by the bride and her family.
The transfer of the chest to the new house was part of the wedding.
At home, at the foot of the bed or in the living room; occasional seat.

Vocabulary

caixa de núvia / caixa nuvial: trousseau chest.
aixovar: trousseau.
buc: body of the box.
sòcol: socket.
pany: lock.
arquibanc: bench with storage box under the seat (DCVB).
caixa de mariner: sailor's chest (see below).
estar tocat de sa caixa de St. Pere: in Mallorca, being short-sighted (DCVB).

History

1309: «arquibanchs e caixes del rebost», BSAL document (DCVB).
1491: caixes and arquibancs in the inventory of a possession of Santa Margalida (BSAL 2017).
1373: «una caxa ab sa clau et payn» (DCVB).
1434: in Barcelona caixers and cafrers (Viquipèdia) are distinguished.
1493: "caxa ferrada buyda per tenir lo pa", document from the Bulletin of the Societat Arqueològica Lul·liana (DCVB): the box as storage furniture in Mallorca.
15th-18th centuries: time of the caixa de núvia in Catalonia.
18th century: the calaixera becomes part of the dowry in wealthy Catalan houses (since the 1740s) and displaces the cash register (Viquipèdia).
18th century onwards: in Mallorca, the caixa de mariners accompanies the voyages to America (Museu Marítim de Mallorca, piece of the month, 2021).

On veure'n

Museu de Mallorca, Etnològica Section (Wall) : bedroom furnished in Mallorcan style (presence of chests to be verified).
Maritime Museum of Mallorca: mariners' box.
Museum of Decorative Arts of Son Pax; Castell de Bellver (“Jovellanos” marquetry chest, Pou 2016). See also caixa-de-mariner .

Why is it design

Portable furniture: lightweight for traveling from house to house.
Assembly that lasts: dovetail without hardware.
Object with legal value: the furniture is the dowry; the form keeps an economy.
Visible evolution: from box to box with drawers, from there to the calaixera.

For the project

Research: trace “caixa nuvial” and “caixa de núvia” in matrimonial capítols and Mallorcan inventories (Arxiu del Regne de Mallorca) for the atlas.
Piece: contemporary chest of trousseau (lengües clothing, brodats) with a cabinet maker.
Trades: ebenisteria-i-moble-mallorqui · fusteria-mallorquina · robo-de-llengues · brodats . Files: calaixera , eines-de-fuster , cadira-de-boga-i-banc .

Frequently asked questions

What is Caixa de núvia (bridal chest)?

The chest where the bride carried her trousseau (aixovar) from her parents' house to her husband's. The DCVB defines it as "the large box that the bride…

What are the traditional words for Caixa de núvia (bridal chest)?

Some words: aixovar, arquibanc, buc, caixa de mariner, caixa de núvia / caixa nuvial, estar tocat de sa caixa de St. Pere, pany, sòcol.

Sources

Working text from the Disseny Indígena knowledge base, machine-translated from Spanish.

Open it in the atlas →