A PAIR OF SCOTTISH OAK SINGLE BEDS

The single beds, with head and foot-boards richly carved with linenfold panelling and lion-capped pillars, were designed in the mediaeval style by the architect Sir Robert Stodart Lorimer (1864-1929). Following his training in the offices of G. F. Bodley (d. 1907) Lorimer established offices in Edinburgh in 1893, and was appointed architect for the Chapel of the Order of the Knights of the Thistle in St. Giles's Cathedral in the early 20th century. He was concerned with unifying his interiors with the buildings he designed. It is likely that the heraldic motifs of castellation, hounds and lions on the bed relate to the arms of the family who commissioned them. Lorimer frequently executed designs on paper, which were then almost exclusively executed by Whytock and Reid, the Edinburgh cabinet makers. He insisted upon an exacting standard of craftsmanship, as well as timber.