Chair
1855-1910 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
The form of this chair probably originated in the Orkneys in the early nineteenth century. David Kirkness established it as the most popular Orkney type in the 1890s. His workshop in Kirkwall, Orkney, made frames from pine or oak ordered from Aberdeen rather than local driftwood. He sent finished frames to skilled locals who wove the straw directly onto them.
This Orkney chair, which has belonged to the University of St Andrew's for over a century, appears in a photograph of the Dining Room at University Hall in Kennedy Gardens taken between 1896 and 1910. Of the many thousands of chairs made in Kirkness's workshop, it is one of very few that still retains its original label.
This Orkney chair, which has belonged to the University of St Andrew's for over a century, appears in a photograph of the Dining Room at University Hall in Kennedy Gardens taken between 1896 and 1910. Of the many thousands of chairs made in Kirkness's workshop, it is one of very few that still retains its original label.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Frame and seat: white pine, originally stained green. Back: straw (probably black oat) sewn with bent grass |
| Brief description | 'Gentleman's Chair', designed and made by David Kirkness, white pine and straw, 1855-1910 |
| Physical description | A chair with a wooden base and drawer, arms and two supports framing a high, slightly domed, woven straw back. |
| Dimensions |
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| Credit line | On loan from the Museum Collections Unit, University of St Andrews (Accession no. STAU HC.2012.51) |
| Summary | The form of this chair probably originated in the Orkneys in the early nineteenth century. David Kirkness established it as the most popular Orkney type in the 1890s. His workshop in Kirkwall, Orkney, made frames from pine or oak ordered from Aberdeen rather than local driftwood. He sent finished frames to skilled locals who wove the straw directly onto them. This Orkney chair, which has belonged to the University of St Andrew's for over a century, appears in a photograph of the Dining Room at University Hall in Kennedy Gardens taken between 1896 and 1910. Of the many thousands of chairs made in Kirkness's workshop, it is one of very few that still retains its original label. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | LOAN:ST ANDREWS.1-2012 |
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| Record created | November 14, 2012 |
| Record URL |
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