Printed from Woolley & Wallis

Description

'THE MEDALLION CHEST'

AN EXCEPTIONALLY RARE AND FINE HENRY VIII OAK MARRIAGE CHEST

WEST COUNTRY, POSSIBLY EXETER, C.1520-30 AND LATER

the possibly later hinged top above a panelled front centred with a Tudor triple trinity rose flanked by a pair of Romayne portrait busts of a bride and groom with panels carved with their respective initials, 'A T' and 'R T', the left end with a portrait panel of the bride's father and the right end with a linenfold panel carved in the solid, feet lacking, now on later wooden blocks

49cm high, 158cm wide, 44cm deep

Provenance

By repute Caverswall Castle, Staffordshire. Purchased from a saleroom in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent in 1978 as an ottoman, as it was covered entirely in fabric when it was consigned by an order of nuns: the Daughters of the Heart of Mary who were based in the Castle until 1978 when it was sold.

A Private Collector, purchased from Michael Dann.

Literature

See Michael Dann, 'The English Smile, English Furniture and the Renaissance 1490-1590' pp.24-31, where this chest is illustrated and discussed.

Catalogue Note

Caverswall Castle dates back to the 13th century and was built by Sir William de Caverswall. His granddaughter brought the estate into the Montgomery family, a prominent family in the area. In 1515, Dorothy Montgomery married Sir Thomas Gifford, who was seated at Caverswall until shortly before the accession of Elizabeth I.

Previous research has failed to establish a connection between the initials and any known figures of the period. It has been suggested that the chest may have commemorated the marriage of Roland de Ville (1474–1535), the alleged illegitimate son of Henry VII, to Agnes Griffiths at Beaumaris Castle, North Wales, in 1527. However, it seems highly unlikely that Roland would have adopted the Tudor name in any public context.

The cross on the cap badge of the end Romayne bust does, however, prompt a possible connection with the Knights of the Garter. There were five knights with surnames beginning with ‘T’ between 1460 and 1550, including Sir Rhys ap Thomas FitzUrien (1449–1525), who was elected a Knight of the Garter in 1505. He was brought up at the Burgundian court and would therefore have been exposed to, and likely absorbed, French influences.