Treasure chest
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Treasure chest is a common element in modern fiction, gaming and video gaming. The primary idea behind the treasure chest is a romantic one, that pirates and other idealized criminals faced constant persecution and lived such fast-paced lives that they sometimes had to quickly dispose of their ill-gotten gain to return to and reclaim later.
Hence, the idea that treasure could easily be held in a wooden chest and buried, with a treasure map to guide the burier (or a lucky recipient of the map) back, was born.
[edit] History and legend
It seems that the myth of buried treasure far outweighed the reality. Partially responsible for this phenomenon is the bragging of such seamen as Captain Kidd, though undoubtedly many others as well (180ff).
More impacting is the traditional line of pirate fiction, beginning with Robert Louis Stevenson's early novel Treasure Island up to and including Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean. Cordingly, again, states that "The effect of Treasure Island on our perception of pirates cannot be overestimated," and says of the idea of treasure maps leading to buried treasure that, "[I]t is an entirely fictional device" (7).
[edit] References
- Cordingly, David (1995). Under the Black Flag: The Romance and Reality of Life Among the Pirates. ISBN 0-679-42560-8.
- Photos and History of antique 100 to 125 year old nautical Treasure Chests can be found at The Pirate's Lair.
