I would love to tell you what the inscription says but my Welsh is pretty rusty (read: nonexistent). The letters are nicely inscribed and the checked diamonds are inlaid. I also love the lockset.
Here's a little better view of the construction on the corner of the chest and the lid. You can also see the inlaid diamond better and the straps and nails holding on the bottom.
With all the talk recently about boarded and nailed furnishings I really wanted to share this piece which I thought was a great example of the technique. In next weeks post I'll share a little more of the furniture and construction of the Plas Mawr.
To translate the Welsh you may want to contact Welsh bodger, Don Weber in Paint Lick, KY. info@handcraftwoodworks.com
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ReplyDeleteSad to say, this isn’t Welsh at all.
Read it again:
HETHATSPEK……………EMEFAYREAND
LOVEMENOTIWYLLGEVEHYMEFAVRE
WORDESANDTRVSTEHYMENOT G – I
“He that spe(a)k……… e me fair and
Love me not I will give him fair
Words and trust him not” “G I” (Probably G J).
There’s no 'K' in Welsh and it is unlikely that you would find Welsh spoken, not the less written, by a strongly advocative English family in an English enclave in the 16th C.
The carver would have been illiterate and copied what was written on a slate, hence some of the characters the wrong way around..
Here you have vernacular English, dialect and all, written as it was heard.
Sadly someone has later installed a lock after the ‘K’ and chopped out some of the motto.
G I is probably the owner of the chest and the ‘I’ is probably a ‘J’ .
All best from Wales
Howard
ReplyDeleteThanks for the insight. I apparently need to pay closer attention. :-) Now that you have pointed it out it seems pretty clear.
I really enjoyed my visit to Conwy last fall and hope to have the opportunity to spend more time and see more of Wales in the future.
Any recommendations?
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ReplyDeleteYou have already found Wales is an ancient, fascinating place; North to South it’s all good, with the exception of the industrial parts. I live smack bang in the middle, geographically speaking.
In the meantime, if you enjoyed the furniture at Conwy, try this book:
http://www.welshfurniture.com/purchase.html
Most highly recommended by me. Along with his book on Bardic chairs, it is the best book there is on the subject.
All best from Wales.
Why not get in touch?
Would love for you to get in touch. Please find my email under my profile and feel free to contact directly.
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