One of the most significant items in the domestic collection is a tub chair, with a solid wooden back and sides, made with recycled tongue and groove boarding. Such chairs can be linked back to the Viking era, and this piece is an indicator of the shared Viking culture of the Northern Isles and the Hebrides.
Utensils and tools made from ephemeral materials such as heather, straw and marram grass were once common in these almost treeless islands and few examples have survived. There are more examples of objects from domestic life in the Archaeology Collection.
Below are samples from our domestic collection.
Click on the images below to scroll through our image gallery:
This tub chair was designed to be low to maximise the heat from an open fireWillow basket made by itinerant tinsmiths to carry their wares, from the Calbost CollectionHank of coir rope from the Calbost Collection. Nicknamed ‘Sìoman Theàrlaich’ (‘Charlie’s Rope’) it came from Charlie Morrison’s shop, Point Street, StornowayCrogan collected in 1862 by Dr Arthur Mitchell (author of ‘The Past in the Present’, 1880)Crogans used as containers for food and liquids, from the Calbost CollectionOil lamp, made by tinsmithMilk bottles from Dalbeg Dairy and Mossend Farm, LewisButter handsEnamel cooking potEgg boxEgg grader, croftingHorn beakers from the Calbost CollectionVariety of packagingClarks Stove Co. Ltd. ‘Fairy Prince’ Gas IronClarks Stove Co. Ltd. ‘Fairy Prince’ Gas IronPye radio from the Calbost Collection.
Credit John Maclean PhotographyVictorian toasting rackSouvenir decorated shells from Pitcairn IslandsSilver pipe lid
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