tiny steps on the trencher project

[ppfuf]

I had a moment of (dignified) SQEEEEEE yesterday morning when I found the curator of the Colchester museum has sent me some pictures of the two (sadly incomplete) sets of fruit-trenchers in their possession. One picture looks like it was taken of the trenchers on display, so if any one is near Colchester, please send me photos! I can’t post the pictures the nice lady sent me.

The set of six with box (only two are visible in the curator's pictures) are very similar to several other sets, particularly the set of 11 in the Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery. The Colchester set has narrower bands on the inner circles.
One, with the a lily and knot-work pattern is nearly identical in pattern to one of the Norfolk trenchers, as well as one of the set of 12 in Domestic Utensils of Wood plate 24 (row 2,column 2). It also appears to be the same pattern as the bottom figure in a set of 3 at the Ashmolean ermine_rat  posted a picture of a few weeks ago.
The second visible trencher has a design of white strawberries and leaves is very similar to the set of 12 in Domestic Utensils of Wood plate 24 (row 1, column 2), this one at the Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery and a set of 3 trenchers in Treen for the Table on page 136. Sadly none of the trenchers appear to have the same configuration of words.

The second picture from the Colchester museum is a set of seven gilded and highly decorated trenchers. Three trenchers and their box are visible in the group picture, and a fouth trencher is a solo picture of much better (readable! yay!) detail. This set bears a strong “family resemblance” to the set in the St Albans Museum, and a single trencher in the Stranger’s Hall in Norfolk. See also the second figure in Albert Way's Ornamental Fruit-Trenchers Inscribed with Posies (1846).

I wish the curators at St Albans and Kendal would answer my emails. While I'm wishing, I'd like to win the lottery so I can take a cheese-trencher tour of England.

Comments

When do we get to start making stuff?

[gormflaith.livejournal.com]

I wanna start!

[xrian.livejournal.com]

I have to admit, I read the next to last sentence "The set of seven bears...." and then had to go back and re-parse the sentence when I realized you were talking about a set of seven TRENCHERS, not a set of seven BEARS...

[zoccolaro.livejournal.com]

Sadly, I was unable to get close up pics of any of the pieces that you requested =( We didn't get to the British Museum at all, and didn't see the trenchers on display at the V&A. It's possible they were in a section that we didn't get to, but we didn't see them. Sorry we weren't more helpful - next trip!