Grain chest
Date:
1284–1310
Location or Findspot (Modern-Day Country):
France
Dimensions:
94.5 × 286 × 115 cm
Description:
This massive piece of furniture, over 9 feet long, could store up to two tons (1823 cubic meters) of grain in two separate compartments that had to be unlocked in order. Cusped blind arches and iron fittings made the utilitarian object visually pleasing. Some of the iron was lost when the chest had to be dismantled to remove it from the house in Poissy where it was found. Dated by dendrochronology between 1284 and 1310, the grain chest likely belonged to the Dominican women's priory (a monastery led by a prioress) at Poissy built in honor of King Louis IX, who had been born in Poissy in 1214 and was canonized in 1297.
Relevant Textbook Chapter(s):
9
Repository and Online Resources:
• See the entry on the Musée de Cluny–Musée national du Moyen Âge website (no. 21545)
Image Credits:
Linda Safran
