The presentation of the book "The Dowry Chest Catalogue"

It is with great pleasure and satisfaction that we announce the launch of the book "The Dowry Chest: The Ethnographic Open-Air Museum of Latvia Catalogue!"
This catalogue is a magnificent centenary publication of the museum, featuring 367 chests from the museum's collection.
The catalogue includes items from the Ethnographic Open-Air Museum of Latvia that fit the chest form and were intended for long-term storage and transport of objects. These include travel chests, dowry chests, servant’s belongings chests, schoolchildren’s food/book chests, artisan tool chests, money and document boxes, seamen’s chests, and chests used for storing grains and flour. This collection of items has developed over approximately 90 years, based on the principles of the museum's founders: to showcase our nation's way of life in all its diversity – from both historical and social perspectives.
The work on the catalogue has been time-consuming, requiring the efforts of many museum staff in handling, cleaning, restoring, photographing, measuring, and compiling scientific documentation, and is the result of collective effort.
The compiler and scientific editor of the catalogue is Dr. hist. Mārtiņš Kuplais. The catalogue preparation has utilized the research of Dr. art. Kristīne Ogle, as well as photographs by Gvido Kajons, Gatis Dieziņš, and Uldis Veisbuks, alongside images from the Latvian Ethnographic Open-Air Museum’s archive and the Cēsis History and Art Museum’s collection.
We sincerely thank artist Arta Ozola-Jaunarāja, translator Līvija Uskale, translator and text editor Līga Māra Kriķe, and text editor Elita Priedīte. Special thanks to our colleague and project manager Anda Skuja.

The publishing of the book was financially supported by the Latvian State Culture Fund.

Fotos: Gatis Dieziņš