Miniature hospital furniture made by convalescent soldier on Orkney Islands

c. 1915
Overview

Set of three metal miniature pieces of hospital furniture made by a convalescent soldier on the Orkney Islands during the World War One period. It comprises an infirmary bed, locker and chair.
The bed has a tall, curved bedhead with four vertical bars between top and bottom horizontal bars. There are depictions of swivel wheels on the two supporting legs. The lower baseboard has two horizontal bars separated by a vertical bar which ends with a swivelling wheel. The supporting legs have solid feet rather than wheels. There is a flat piece of metal bent over the sides and end to represent the bedding. It is all painted black.
The locker is rectangular in shape and features a representation of a door with a knob in the bottom section and an open alcove on the upper left side. It stands on four cylindrical legs. The whole locker has been painted with light brown paint over which dark brown lines have been painted to represent wood grain.
The chair is in the style of a lathe back or Windsor chair, with four cylindrical pieces of metal between the upper back and solid seat. The outer two pieces of metal joining the seat to the top are thicker than the four central bars. There are four splayed legs, with the sides, back and front joined by horizontal bars. The bar at the front is higher than the other three sides to allow for the feet and lower legs. The chair is painted in the same light brown tones.
There is some loss of paint to all three pieces of furniture.

Historical information

This set of miniature furniture was said to have been made by a convalescent soldier whilst recuperating in hospital on the Orkney Islands in Scotland during the World War One period. Although the Orkney Islands had no official military hospital at the time, the Balfour Hospital had operated since 1845 and several larger homes were converted into infirmaries to house convalescent soldiers during the war.
The identity of the maker is unknown, but it took great skill to produce the miniature furniture in such detail. It represented what he could see from his hospital bed - a bed, locker and chair.

Details

Details

Registration number
cwa-org-119-RoW00582
Material
Width
82 mm
Height or length
98 mm
Depth
170 mm
Place made
Orkney Islands, United Kingdom
Year
Primary significance criteria
Artistic or aesthetic significance
Historic significance
Social or spiritual significance
Comparative significance criteria
Interpretive capacity
Rare or representative
Last modified
Wednesday, 16 July, 2025
Completeness
100
Recollections of War

Recollections of War

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Miniature hospital furniture made by convalescent soldier on Orkney Islands
Miniature hospital furniture made by convalescent soldier on Orkney Islands
Miniature hospital furniture made by convalescent soldier on Orkney Islands
Miniature hospital furniture made by convalescent soldier on Orkney Islands
Miniature hospital bed made by convalescent soldier - side view
Miniature hospital bed made by convalescent soldier - side view
Miniature hospital bed made by convalescent soldier - back view
Miniature hospital bed made by convalescent soldier - back view
Miniature hospital bed made by convalescent soldier - other side view
Miniature hospital bed made by convalescent soldier - other side view
Miniature hospital bed made by convalescent soldier -  view of underside
Miniature hospital bed made by convalescent soldier - view of underside
Miniature hospital chair made by convalescent soldier -  oblique view
Miniature hospital chair made by convalescent soldier - oblique view
Miniature hospital chair made by convalescent soldier -  front view
Miniature hospital chair made by convalescent soldier - front view
Miniature hospital chair made by convalescent soldier -  other oblique view
Miniature hospital chair made by convalescent soldier - other oblique view
Miniature hospital chair made by convalescent soldier -  back view
Miniature hospital chair made by convalescent soldier - back view
Miniature hospital chair made by convalescent soldier -  top view
Miniature hospital chair made by convalescent soldier - top view
Miniature hospital locker made by convalescent soldier -  oblique view
Miniature hospital locker made by convalescent soldier - oblique view
Miniature hospital locker made by convalescent soldier -  oblique view of back
Miniature hospital locker made by convalescent soldier - oblique view of back
Miniature hospital locker made by convalescent soldier -  top view of front
Miniature hospital locker made by convalescent soldier - top view of front
Miniature hospital locker made by convalescent soldier -  top view of back
Miniature hospital locker made by convalescent soldier - top view of back

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