
The chest "lada
de zestre" is one of the oldest and most important pieces of Romanian
peasant furniture, found in all ethnographic areas of the country. The
tradition is a long one, thousands of years old, it was brought to us by the
Greeks, from Mesopotamia. If at the beginning it was made by the father of the
girl, later it was made by specialized craftsmen, called "ladari"
craftsmen. The wood from which it was made was lime, oak or beech, sometimes
fir. The trees were cut in autumn, when they came out of growth. The carved
wood was left to dry for many years and was protected by traditional means from
decay. The ornamental field of the crates covered the entire surface, with
ancient, traditional motifs appearing on the crates, some of them with an
apotropaic role: the sundew, the wheel, the cross. There are painted motifs and
plant symbols: fir tree, tulip, lily, daisy, carnation, thorn. Other times, the
decoration on the surface of the chest includes geometric motifs: circles,
diamonds, zigzags, intersecting lines, semicircles, squares, x's.
The chest carries with
it deep meanings. It was a symbol of the skill and diligence of the young
bridegroom's daughter. She filled her chest with hand-sewn erasers, sheets,
embroidery, blankets, cushions, cushions, ornaments for celebrations. The
bigger the chest, the wealthier the family. The more beautifully ornamented it
was, the more the girl was courted by the young people of the village. With
this dowry placed in the chest, the girl left her parents' home to follow her
groom, with whom she was to found her own family. After the wedding, the dowry
chest was used for storage, for keeping the wedding clothes and linens. In the
house of the girl to be married, the dowry chest stood in pride of place, to be
seen by anyone who set foot in the girl's house. Also in the dowry chest, the
woman of a certain age would begin to place pieces of costume proudly crafted
by her own hand, as well as burial cloth. The elders of the Muscel area still
keep these lazi along with the traditional burial costume.
It can be said that,
along with the "ia" and "fota", the "marama and the
braul", all hand-sewn with an unworldly detail and beauty, kept in the
dowry chest with sanctity, the Romanian peasant also put a part of his soul.