The Fitzwilliam Museum - University of Cambridge

Wales & Wales
(1919–1999)
Wedding Chest
2005
Bog oak and natural oak with
stainless steel inlay, and blue
and red paint
H. 84 cm; W. 121.5 cm. D. 54.2 cm
Given by Nicholas Goodison
through The Art Fund
M.12-2005
Sir Nicholas Goodison commissioned
Rod and Alison Wales to make a piece of
furniture for the Fitzwilliam with the
prize awarded to him in 2004 by CINOA
(La Conféderation Internationale des
Négociants en Oeuvres d’Art) for a
lifetime’s achievement in the arts. After
visiting the Museum, the Waleses
decided to make a chest, inspired by
Italian Renaissance cassoni, customarily
made before weddings to house the
bride’s trousseau. Their sophisticated
asymmetrical design is equally
serviceable, and if the chest were not in a
museum, it would be just the place to
stow away the winter blankets and
duvets. The Waleses used their preferred
woods, dark bog oak contrasting with
fumed and limed natural oak, and, at Sir
Nicholas’s suggestion, added interest to
the front by inlaying it with brushed steel.
The interior surfaces, and small areas of
the exterior, are painted bright blue and
red, the colours of the Virgin as Queen of
Heaven. Unusually, the hinged lid is cut
on the slant, so that it can be raised
without disturbing a piece of sculpture or
other three-dimensional work displayed
on the left of the top. Mindful of the
Fitzwilliam’s educational role, the makers
presented the museum with a CD
recording the design, and significant
stages in the construction of the chest.
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Major Acquisitions