Princess Anne Bowl - By Roy Wood
Among the timber stock of a retired woodturner, purchased a few years ago, was a large, 24” x 4” Cedar blank. Writing upon it suggested that the tree had been planted at Ditchley Park, in Oxfordshire, 325 years before by Princess Anne, (Future Queen of England, Scotland & Ireland, 1702-1714, and the last monarch of the Stuarts). Although there is no provenance as such, this seemed to me to be an important chunk of wood and to therefore warrant some special attention, so I set about turning a dish/bowl that might relate to the period.
I mounted the best face of the blank to a 12” faceplate and turned it to a 23” disc. The base was reduced by ⅜” leaving a boss of 4½” to accommodate the larger of the Axminster Jaws. I then removed waste to shape what would become the underside, knowing that I would be able to return again to this area except for the very outside edge.
The piece was then reversed onto the chuck and the bulk of the hollowed material removed to establish the rough shape but retain some of the short term strength. The top of the outer rim was formed some 2½” wide with a bead on either side of a raised bed. Removing the chuck with the dish from the lathe, I secured it in a bench vice where I marked out an open basketwork design to represent the House of Stuart tartan together with three carved thistles, the national emblem of Scotland. After some experimentation, the basic design was easily developed by using 12” compass arcs from alternate points, 1” & ½” apart, centred along the inside of the inner bead, then reversing the sequence.
The design was then hand-carved with some difficulty as the pattern called for concentration while the material was very soft and coarse grained.
The inner dish was carefully turned to a pleasing profile and sanded/scraped to a fine finish. Danish oil was applied with a final coating of wax. The dish was then remounted onto a slave faceplate by centring and clamping with six wooden clips.
The boss was removed and the foot recess, at 10 inches wide, shaped to pattern. An inscribed brass plaque was made, engraved & inserted into the base, secured by ‘Copydex’ to allow for movement.
I have since discovered the saw-mill in Benson who felled the tree, and the owners estimate that the butt was some 36 feet in circumference. They also recall that the illustrious John Makepeace, OBE, was approached to make a large table with the biggest section, so I could have brushed against some really serious competition there.
A curious outcome of this project is that very few people initially associate Queen Anne with a Princess, so that when I explain that the item has been made from a tree that was possibly planted by “Princess Anne”, I can then watch the rapid calculations being made about the potential growth of trees versus their best guess at the age of our present Princess Anne! Of course, it doesn’t compute, so I get to flaunt my new knowledge of Britain’s history!
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Editorial comment - Entered in the open Masters July competition this bowl won a well deserved First Place.