Millennium Hexagon 2
To celebrate the Millennium, the Marquetry Society prepared a composite exhibit comprising over 40 interlocking hexagonal panels. These panels were made by groups and individuals across the UK and came together for the first time at the 48th National Marquetry Exhibition at Hall Place, Bexley, Kent, in May 2000. The Staffordshire Group participated in this project and here is our second panel.
It features the canals of Staffordshire - the arteries of the county in centuries past - which brought in essential raw materials and exported the heavy finished pottery and other goods.
At the top right is the familiar county symbol - the Stafford knot.
The outline map of the county at the left of the picture shows the principal waterways, including the Trent and Mersey, Shropshire Union, Stafford & Worcester, Caldon and Birmingham & Fazeley canals. A small hexagon marks the Group's home base in Eccleshall
The main scene is of a traditional canal boat gently working its way out of a lock.
The tiller just hints at the colourful decoration which boat owners applied to their belongings. Colours are tricky to interpret in marquetry, but John Archer has captured the spirit of the decoration in the pan and water pail at the bottom left.
What's the gory story behind the Stafford Knot? ...
follow this link ... if you dare !Marquetry by John Archer, Bill Barber, Bill Faulkner, Zoë O'Sullivan, Quentin Smith, Joan Stewart and Margaret Webb
See all the panels on the Marquetry Society site (this is a BIG page)
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