Origin: unknown (Islamic Republic of Mauritania)
Dating: the beginning of 20^th century

Wooden chests used to be considered one of the most important items owned by Tuareg people. Both the decorative metal fittings and the key lock prove that they were a shelter for expensive items hidden inside. Similar, but much smaller trunks were used by Tuareg women to store valuable personal items and jewelry. However, trunks such as this one, or those of much larger dimensions, were used to store items and money from caravan raids.

The Tuaregs, also known as the Desert People, are people of Berber origin who live in the sandy areas of the Sahara mainly in Algeria, Libya, Mali, Niger, Chad, Nigeria, and Burkina Faso. Traditionally, nomads, today Tuaregs lead a sedentary lifestyle more and more often. And although many of them are currently engaged in breeding cattle and goats, making jewelry, or handling tourist traffic, the areas of the largest desert in the world are still extremely dangerous.

Difficult living conditions and the inability to develop a stable economic structure have for centuries forced Tuaregs to deal with illegal activities, although bringing high and quick profits. Formerly, the Desert People controlled the network of caravan connections in the wilderness of North Africa, and thus the trade in gold, spices, and slaves. Some Tuarene tribes themselves engaged in the illegal transport of valuable goods through the desert, others offered their services to travelers as guides or escorts. Not infrequently, the Tuareg also attacked caravans traveling through the Sahara and stored the loot in this way in trunks similar to the one you see in front of you now.

Nowadays, caravans have been replaced by truck convoys, which no longer need the protection of the Desert People and, moreover, are not afraid of their sword blades. Currently, some descendants of Tuarene nomads belong to paramilitary formations operating on the basis of rebel struggle. They are still engaged in robbery, but the achievements of which they are interested in the form of cars, weapons, or electronic equipment can no longer be hidden in trunks with metal fittings.

Bibiliography:
- informacje nt. wykorzystania przedmiotu uzyskane dzięki uprzejmości A. Rybińskiego
- P. Gwin, Tuaregowie – władcy Sahary, [w:] www.national-geographic.pl (artykuł online opublikowany 01.09.2011), [dostęp: 4.11.2021], link: https://www.national-geographic.pl/artykul/tuaregowie-wladcy-sahary
- P. Jaskólski, Tuaregowie Saharyjskie epitafium, [w:] www.egzotyka.tv (artykuł online, opublikowany 6.09.2020, pierwotnie w Magazynie Podróżników Globtroter), dostęp: 4.11.2021, link: https://www.egzotyka.tv/blog/tuaregowie-saharyjskie-epitafium/

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The purchase is co-financed by the Ministry of Culture, National Heritage and Sport as part of the National Institute of Museums and Collections' own program "Expansion of museum collections".