Dear Helaine and Joe: I inherited this chest from my parents. It was shipped to them from Saudi Arabia in 1968, and they referred to it as the "Kuwaiti chest." My father said it was dug up in the desert somewhere.
It measures 52 inches wide by 22 inches tall. Any information would be appreciated, and should I be concerned about sun damage since I have it in a room under a window? Thank you. — L Dear L: This and similar chests are called by a variety of names.
"Kuwaiti chest" is one of them. They are also referred to as Shirazi chests (if they show any kind of Persian influence in the design) and Zanzibar chests. They are also known as Omani chests and more generically "Arab chests.
" A Kuwaiti chest is sometimes associated with storage in the captain's quarters of a seagoing dhow, which is a lateen-rigged (slanted triangular sail) ship that is thought to have originated in India. We also found that at least some of the chests might have been decorated by seamen on dhows during long voyages. Dhows are often associated with Middle Eastern and Indian vessels sailing in the Red Sea and Indian Ocean but can also be found on the Nile River.
Depending on the size, a dhow can have a crew of between 12 and 30. But we think this particular chest was far too large to have been housed in the captain's cabin of a dhow and was probably not decorated by a ship's crew. Instead, we think it is a dower chest — the chest a young woman brought to her new home containing both her material weal.