This another piece of the Burr Elm that came from the village of Colesden in Bedfordshire where it had stood for more than three hundred years. Sadly it had become dangerous with pieces of dead wood falling into the road as it succumbed to the dreaded Dutch Elm Disease and in January 2017 the borough council said it had to be felled.

The massive 5' (1500mm) diameter trunk was sold to a local furniture maker and I was fortunate to be offered all the branch wood, the biggest of which were 24" (600mm) diameter. Burr Elm is one of my favourite timbers, it is full of character, rich with features and no two pieces are ever the same.

This end grained piece was rough turned and left to dry and stabilise for about six months then put back on lathe to be re-turned both inside and out. Beautiful as this piece of Elm is, I felt it needed and would benefit from some Pyro engraving. The patterns are my interpretations of tribal tattoos and although I roughly sketch their positions on the urn, they evolve as spread across the surface. On planer woods I usually fill in each segment but in this instance I didn't want them to overpower the inate beauty of the Elm and left them as simple outlines with only the tips infilled. After a final sanding four coats of very durable eco friendly hardwax oil is applied over a period of two days giving a maintaineance free finish which only needs dusting when required.

The Monkey Puzzle (Chilean Pine) lid has a 12tpi handcut thread with a corresponding English Holly collar fixed into the neck ensuring a secure closure.

It measures 260mm H x 220mm D (10 ¼" x 8 ⅝") and has a capacity of 4.1ltrs (250 cu in)