Grand Tour
by M’ama edizioni · Faenza, Italy

A travel trunk inspired by by the luxurious trunks created with such craftsmanship by Maison Goyard since 1972 and by Duchamp’s work “box in a Suitcase” but also by the big green trunk my in-law’s bought to move to Gabon for work in 1980 and filled with plates, linen, books and few cherished objects. The same trunk that 6 years after , returned to Italy filled with many African souvenirs , fabrics, photographs, masks , ceramics.
My trunk is a very small version, 70 cm by 38 cm by 45 cm in height, so can be used as a coffee table, bedside table or small bench.
In order to maintain lightness, a fundamental requirement for a travel trunk,I chose to make it with 4 millimetre birch panels, a wood that is easy to work with and very robust, externally plated with 0.5 mm thick aluminium foil. On the outside, I wanted to maintain the aesthetics of the trunk-box, so I salvaged the hinges, lock and profiles from the old family trunk.
The interior is refined, poetic, evocative with references to music, art, cinema and the stories of travellers I interviewed.
My upholstery is embroidered with a small gold palm that recalls the Traveller’s Palm that grew in my inlaw’s garden, symbol of shelter and survival.
The inside of the lid is embellished with a material that represents my stylistic signature, a soft and ductile steel fabric decorated by myself with diffused heat from an oxy-acetylene torch in iridescent shades reminiscent of the starry sky of Africa. The compartment is layered, the first shelf is a small compartmentalised jewellery tray, similar to a box of chocolates, then at below there are more boxes-layers up to a false bottom to hold letters, cards and secret photographs.
It is a portable museum, a micro-architecture of my ego.