Bedford Museum acquires Burges Zodiac Settle valued at £850,000.
The Bedford Museum hase acquired a William Burges furniture piece for a price of £850,000. With funds from many different organizations, the museum was able to buy this piece as the centerpiece for the gallery space in the Cecil Higgins Art Gallery. With depictions of zodiac symbols, this piece has been fondly known as the Zodiac Settle.
The Zodiac Settle is a creative piece of furniture combining many styles from Renaissance painted day beds to Victorian bed canopies. Designed by William Burges about 1869, it has been circulating through many private collectors and only recently been acquired by the Bedford Museum. The museum fundraised to achieve the £850,000 price tag along with help of grants from the National Heritage memorial Fund, the Trustees of the Cecil Higgins Art Gallery, and the Art Fund. This was brought into the museum to become the centerpiece for the new William Burges Gallery as well as the Cecil Higgins Art Gallery.
The piece itself was an experiment for Burges in which he never repeated in any later work. It is made from many types of gilded and painted wood, as well as rock crystals and scenes created with vellum. The centerpiece depicts the sun with many twirling signs of the zodiac surrounding. Also depicting the planets as musicians and females. This piece will surely feel at home along side Burges’ other work, Narcissus Washstand, which also resides in the Cecil Higgins Art Gallery.
Posted by: Lauren Guzniczak.