Ask me about my cupboard

So today was pretty much amazing... I'd like to start by giving a shout-out to everyone at Biltmore. You have no idea how many doors have been opened to me because of that internship. So many folks over here know of Biltmore, and as soon as it comes up in conversation (as it invariably does when talking about dec arts), my professor's eyes light up and they start taking me around town to show me things locked up in basements (so, doors are being opened both literally and figuratively I suppose).

I had my first Scottish Furniture class today and it totally reaffirmed my reasons for being here. I can justify packing up and leaving my family, my friends, and the life I had built in Chapel Hill for the few hours I spent in Room 6 today learning about chairs. There are only 8 people in my class for starters, a student-faculty ratio I haven't had the luxury of experiencing since my Asheville School days. We meet in a beautiful Edwardian room and sit around a giant mahogany table. The floor-to-ceiling windows look out over the gardens and the North Sea and slides are projected on a gilt-framed screen.

My professor is named David Jones and he is the consummate British professor type: all tweed and beard and eyeglasses. His passion for the material is evident every time he changes slides because he gasps a little. He is as surprised and excited as we are about each new image, and you can't help but smile as you take notes. The other students in my class are dilligent and bright and will speak up without being called upon. They each have a different perspective on furniture based on their respective concentrations within the school; one guy, for instance, is specializing in illuminated manuscripts, so he got really excited when we started looking at furniture from the southwest of Scotland because the Irish influence down there creates amazing potential for overlap (strapwork, interlacing and the like). Anyways, it's basically the best class ever -- and I haven't even told you the good news yet!

Each week a different student has to present on a topic of their choosing from a list provided by David. Selecting week 8, for example, would mean writing a paper on Thomas Chippendale's Paxton Commission; for week 10 you have to compare and contrast the research approaches of I.F. Grant and Ross Noble. It's all very diverse and exciting.

I stayed after class with David this morning to talk about which week I should choose. I was leaning towards something from week 8 or 9 so that I would have plenty of time to prepare, but he urged me to do the topic for week 3 (next week!) -- writing a catalogue description of a piece of Scottish furniture from 1660-1840. Instantly, months of bath linens flashed before my eyes and I thought 'Yes! Yes, I can do that!'

Anyways, he suddenly got really excited and said 'well, if you worked at Biltmore you've certainly had some experience with handling historic furniture and the like, how would you like to do something from St. Andrews' collection?! I know the perfect piece! Come on!' -- and off he went. We walked quickly out of the Art History building, through an alley, across Market Street (where I tripped on cobblestones! The shame- the shame!) and into the courtyard of St. Mary's college. The courtyard of St. Mary's is very, very old, and in the middle is a gnarled old tree that was planted by Mary Queen of Scots. We ducked through an archway on the right and went down some winding stairs to the sub-basement. He knocked on a huge wooden door and pulled out an enormous jangly ring of ancient keys and unlocked the door.

We stepped into a musty old room with low, arched ceilings. The walls were filled with oil paintings and the floor was a jumble of antique furniture. "There we are," said David, pointing to a hulking mass on the far wall, "the St. Andrews cupboard."

-- Can I just take a minute and say that this has to be one of the coolest moments of my life? I mean, The St. Andrews Cupboard? WHA? Ok, onwards --

David flicked on the lamps and we picked our way across the room. It is an exquisitely carved cupboard, a little taller than I am, with elaborately vine and bud designs on the panels. "Do you see anything interesting about the panels on this cupboard?" asked David. I immediately picked out a large thistle on the lower left... and then a rosebud above it... and then a daisy on the upper right panel. I knew from the hours of Shakespeare lecture with Dr. Armitage that the rose had to represent the Tudor family (yes!), and that the thistle probably represented some aspect of Scotland... but I was stumped by the daisy. David launched into a long explanation of the flowers and how each represented a person (Rose: Tudor King, Thistle: James IV, Daisy: Margaret Tudor) and how the cupboard was thought to have been made circa 1503 for the royal marriage of James and Margaret. It was clearly made by a Scottish cabinetmaker, as the thistle is about five times bigger than either of the other flowers, which I find mildly amusing.

You can go here to see an image of the cupboard and a short object description...

Anyways, it is perhaps the most beautiful antique I have ever seen; probably moreso based on the fact that it is stuck in some old room in the basement of a classroom building. I poked around, opening the doors and looking at the hinges while David started flitting around the room and showing me other pieces... it was my best thirty minutes in St. Andrews so far.

So hurrah! I made an appointment to come back on Monday to take photographs and make notes. Check back for more images and general excitement.

Changing gears: this weekend (well, tomorrow really) I am going to Edinburgh to visit my Australian friends Nigel and Jo. They are winding up six months of travel through the wilds of places like Morrocco and Slovenia so we are planning a proper get-together so they can tell me about their trip and I can tell them about... my cupboard. I owe them copious amounts of free food and drink seeing as they carted me all around Scotland in March when I came to visit St. Andrews, and they are also basically two of the nicest people in the world. I can't wait to see them! I'm also excited because Meghan is going with me and her birthday is on the 7th, so reasons for celebration abound!

Anyways, until Monday, be happy and healthy.
Oh! And if you need to reach me while I am away you can call me on my mobile: 7928778350.

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