A visit to Dordtmund: medieval furniture from the Museum für Kunst und Kulturgeschichte, part 1

 

Detail from the "Entkleidung Christi" showing a man using an auger. 

                                                               Egg tempera on oak, around 1480. Painted by someone around the Master of Liesborn.

The "Christmas market" shopping trip of last year went to the German city of Dordtmund. I took the opportunity to visit the Museum für Kunst und Kulturgeschichte, while the others were immersing themselves in glühwein and buying Christmas presents. The museum has a nice collection of medieval (and later) furniture, including a small strycsitten. I was able to make some rough measurements of the strycsitten, and of course took a lot of photos (without flash).

The Dordtmund strycsitten 

The Dordtmund strycsitten is not completely original anymore. Several pieces have been replaced - or are missing - for instance, the horizontal bottom rail at the back. I could make some rough measurements using my tape measure trying not to touch the actual item or standing on the display floor (the guardian was watching my back). The strycsitten has a width of 90 cm, wide enough to squeeze in two persons. It has a depth of around 49 cm and a height of around 88 cm. Seating height is around 43 cm. The strycsitten is of German origin and dated to 1400. It is made from oak. The information panel also mentions that traces of paint have been found on the oak.

The front side of the Dordtmund strycsitten. The horizontal board below the seating is a replacement.

Bottom and top of the swinging backrest. The actual swinging pin is located (and hidden) at the seating. 

The swinging pin is also not visible from the outside.

Three pins are used to secure the replacement front board.

The left and right armrests. Note that the top of the backrest has an angle.

This shows nicely the construction of the swinging arm. (On the wall an image of a quite different strycsitten is shown)

The sides consist of two panels decorated with a diamond grid with carved roses.

The bottom decoration on the side of the strycsitten.

The frame is decorated with twisted spiral columns (Left), at the top on which an animal figure (bear?) resides (Right). The spiral column on the right side of the struycsitten are largely detoriated.

The other side, unfortunately a bit unclear photo, but it shows a similar layout.

Writing desk

The view on the writing desk is a bit obscured by the iron strongbox in front of it. The writing desk consist of a small cupboard with a door, a movable writing plateau set at an angle, and a top shelf.

 

 

The panels in the frameword show intricate linenfold patterns. 

The top (left) and bottom (right) panels have different linenfold patterns.

The lock of the writing desk.

The hinge moves from outside on the door to inside on the frame. Note the iron nail that secures the inside part of the hinge.

The writing plateau is connected with two small hinges to the top shelf.

Triangular turned chairs

Triangular turned chairs are a common type of seating found from the late medieval period up to the 18th century. The construction of these chairs remained the same during this period. The Dordtmund museum has several turned triangular chairs on display, however they date from the 17th and 18th century. Fortunately they have some missing parts, thereby revealing some construction details of these chairs. This type is also called 'Ammenstuhl'.

The side view of the triangular turned chair

Back view of the chair.

This photo shows how the parts of the backrest are connected. The armrest goes through the board of the backrest. The four V-shaped supports end up in mortises in the backrest board and the vertikal stile. The vertikal stile is fixed with a wooden pin to the backrest.

A view of the underside of the backrest. The armrest goes through the backrest and is fixed with a small pin from the underside.

The horizontal rails for the seating are all set at the same height ...

...whereas the horzontal rails of the bottom are all set on different heights.

The underside of the seating. The seating board consists of three planks. The (one) horizontal rail goes through the vertical stile.

The top of the seating. This horizontal rail does not completely go through the stile(s), but stops somewhere halfway and is then fixed with a pin (can be seen left and right). The armrest goes through the lower stile and is fixed with a pin.

Sort of top view of the triangular turned chair. My Samsung S9 (~15 cm) was added for size comparison.

Sort of back view of the triangular turned chair. My Samsung S9 (~15 cm) was again added for size comparison.

This 18th century chair has a gap near the stile, and nicely shows the groove and how the horizontal rails go into the stile.

A second 18th century chair is missing some part of the seating board and more clearly shows the groove.

Two late medieval trestles

Original real medieval trestles (not the X-trestle tables or the trestle tables that have a horizontal support between the two trestles) are extremely rare. There is a table top with several trestles in the museum Onze Lieve Vrouwe ter Potterie in Bruges, Belgium. The Musee des Arts Decoratifs in Paris, France has a table top with two trestles on display, as well as one trestle hidden somewhere in the depot.

An illumination from 'Anciennes chroniques d’Angleterre' by author Jean de Wavrin ((1400?-1474?) showing some fallen trestles of the type where the three legs are at the sidesof the supporting rail.  Français 81, fol. 262r. Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Département des Manuscrits, Paris, France. Note that also a strycsitten (a bench with a turnable backrest) is shown.

A few years ago I discovered another pair of medieval trestles in Chateau Bois D'Orcan in Bretagne, France. The castle museum has a small but superb collection of medieval furniture. All these trestles are more or less similar in construction: they are very robust, made of heavy pieces of oak, with two legs in front and one at the back. The ones in Bois D'Orcan and the Musee des Arts Decoratives being the most decorated. 

This year I discovered another set of trestles - this one with a modern glass tabletop - when I visited the antique shop of Bruil and Brandsma in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. In contrast to the other trestles, these are "lightweight" and have a different construction. Here, the three legs of the trestle are at the sides, instead of at the front and back. 

Finally, when I started preparing this blog I did a quick internet search on trestles and found an early 16th century set of trestles originating from the UK, also with the legs to the sides. These trestles are the most simple in their construction, and made of heavy oak. Similar type of trestles with side legs are often found in medieval illuminations and paintings. Interestingly, one of the English trestles has four legs, instead of the usual - more stable - three.

Bruil and Brandsma, the Netherlands

The left and the right trestle; photos taken frontal and slightly diagonal. The carved designs of the two are different.

This set of oak trestles originates from the Abby of Herkenrode in Belgium. The abby was founded around 1179 by the earl of Loon. It had a turbulent past: it became a place of pilgrimage, suffered from wars between the regional lords and bishops. During the 18th century it was sold as well as the furniture and other properties. The abby buildings then became an industrial site, suffered from a fire, before it returned in relegious hands in 1972. The trestles could have remained at the abby, or were acquired by locals somewhere in its past with the knowledge of their origin remaining.

Both ends of the horizontal support rails are carved with a floral design. Also note that the legs are inserted into the horizontal rail and secured with a wooden pin.

The decorative rose of the other trestle. This one has a small repair.

The middle boards are carved with a slightly different design. Note the metal nail in the cross of the left photo that connects to the supporting rail to the third leg.

The connecting rail from the middle board to the third leg. Also a metal nail is driven through the third leg. 

The undecorated other side of the trestle. Note that the top part contains no decorative rose. This might indicate that the trestle table is a set of two, and complete except for the table top. Or these trestles are the two outer ones of a larger table with more trestles, where any undecorated middle ones are gone. 

Sutton Hall, United Kingdom

The Sutton Hall trestles (and tabletop) were on sale at an English antique shop (Period Oak Antiques). This table is one of two identical tables from the great hall of Sutton Place in Guidford, Surrey, UK. Sutton Place was a great renaissance mansion build by Sir Richard Weston, a loyal and influential courtier of King Henry VIII. It is believed that these two trestle tables have been in the house since its construction in 1521-1533. 

The two trestle tables as seen in their original site in Sutton Place hall.

The tables date from the 16th century. The table top consists of a large 10 feet long hewn single plank of English oak 4" thick and 30.5" wide. It stands on two trestle supports: one with four legs, the other with three. The trestles are of very simple construction, bascially a large block of oak with the legs sticked into it. The trestles are undecorated, except for the initial JW found at one of the ends of a block.

The trestle on the right has three legs, the one on the left four.

The four-legged trestle.

The table top shown from the 3-legged trestle side.

One trestle is stamped with the initials J.W., According to the antique dealer these marks stood for John Weston, the builder of Sutton Place. This is a bit peculiar as Richard Weston was the first Weston owner of the mansion. It is possible that the initial stand for a later owner, John (Webbe) Weston, an 18th century related family member who inherited the mansion.

Again the four-legged trestle.

Bruil and Brandsma are greatly acknowledged for their permission to take photos and allowing them to be published on this blog.