Bookcase associated with Threave Castle, Kirkcudbrightshire

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This bookcase is said to have been made from a late 16th- or early 17th-century carved oak bedstead. The bedstead was originally in Threave Castle in Kirkcudbrightshire and was used for the bookcase by early 19th-century antiquary Joseph Train.

The book case is in three parts. The carvings, particularly of soldiers, dancers and musicians, are naïve but illustrate cultural life in Scotland.

The carvings on the panels are apparently by someone working in the south west of Scotland about 1600. Other work with similar figures, such as a door at Terregles and another from Amisfield, is attributed to the same man.

Record details

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• Online ID: 000-100-000-667-C
• Image Rights Holder: National Museums Scotland
• Project: National Museums Scotland
  Project description   View all records in project
• Ref: National Museums Scotland  H.KL 131
• Date: Late 16th - early 17th century
  
• Material: Wood, oak
  Bookcase
  
• Dimensions: 1170 x 1340 x 400 / 1120 x 1320 x 350 / 300 x 1390 x 390 mm
  
• What: Bookcase
  
• Subject: Carved woodwork, painted ceilings (NMAS Classification)
  
• Who: Joseph Train
  
• Where: Kirkcudbrightshire, Threave Castle
  Scotland, Berwickshire, Greenlaw
  
• Event:
• Description: Carved bookcase of oak in three parts, said to have been made from a bedstead in Threave Castle, Kirkcudbrightshire, but latterly at Greenlaw, Berwickshire, late 16th to early 17th century
  
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