John Merten (fl.1897)
Address casket 1901
Wood (Queensland Black Bean and other timbers), vellum, leather | 49.0 x 55.3 x 34.0 cm (whole object) | RCIN 64121
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An Australian carved casket made from native woods including Queensland Black Bean (Castanospermum australe), with a drop front, into which is slotted a watercolour manuscript address.
A collaboration between John Merten (cabinetmaker), LJ Harvey (woodcarver), Messrs Ferguson and McLaren (illuminators and painters) and Thomas McColl (leatherworker). The piece was manufactured exclusively in Queensland.
The Brisbane Courier described it as 'of novel form', carved with flowers, fruits, ferns and a bullock and ram's heads 'typical of Queensland industries'. The end panels display natural products such as sugar cane, bananas, wheat and maize. Panels of morocco, hand-tooled in gold, are inserted in sunk panels at front and back, and cut out as mounts for coat of arms of the Duchy of Cornwall and York, and of Queensland and Australia. The back panel comprises a picture of an Aboriginal man stalking an emu. The front of the casket falls down to disclow the address, which consists of two leaves illuminated on vellum and with a wooden border (Brisbane Courier, 21 May 1901, p.18)
See Timothy Roberts, 'Fit for a Queen: two Royal jubilee testimonials from colonial Queensland', Australiana, November 2013, pp.9-13Provenance
Presented to George V and Queen Mary, when Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York, by the Government of Queensland, Australia, 1901. Commissioned by Gordon & Gotch and containing the Local Authorities' Association Address to the royal couple.
Exhibited at the Imperial Institute, London, in 1902: ‘Gifts & Addresses received by Their Royal Highnesses The Duke and Duchess of Cornwall & York during their visit to The King’s Dominions beyond the seas, 1901’ (exhib. cat. no.101).
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Creator(s)
(cabinet maker)(nationality)Acquirer(s)
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Medium and techniques
Wood (Queensland Black Bean and other timbers), vellum, leather
Measurements
49.0 x 55.3 x 34.0 cm (whole object)
Place of Production
Australia
