Accession Number

2016.009.002a&b

Description

Mahogany slat-back Arts & Crafts style chair with a removable padded beige leather seat (b). Back rest has three vertical slats. The frame has two support slats. Back of seat has branding "ER VII Coronation"

Narrative

This mahogany chair was acquired at the 1937 Hatley Park auction by native Victorian, Bruce Brown (1914-2002), or his parents. Mr. Brown stated that Hon. James Dunsmuir received it as a gift after attending the Coronation of King Edward Vll on August 9, 1902.

James Dunsmuir, in his capacity as Premier of British Columbia, and Laura Dunsmuir attended that Coronation. The Castle Society has in its collection an invitation to the Coronation addressed to “Mrs. Dunsmuir” (accession 983.804). Whether the invitation was intended for Mrs. James Dunsmuir or Mrs. Robert Dunsmuir is uncertain. It was probably donated to Craigdarroch by James Guy Payne Audain, James & Laura’s grandson, which suggests that Laura (Mrs. James Dunsmuir) was the original recipient of the invitation.

That the chair was used at the Coronation is indisputable, because it is branded “E. R. Vll CORONATION”. The chair is not visible in any historic photographs of Hatley Castle that Craigdarroch’s curator has examined. However, there are several vaguely-described chairs listed in the 1939 Hatley Park auction catalogue that could be this very chair: 556, 563,564, 625,637,639, 674, and 675.

The removable leather-covered seat of the chair is not original to it. Numerous examples of identically constructed Coronation chairs used during the ceremony are upholstered with removable rush-covered seats. The leather seat is faded and torn, suggesting that it is been used for a very long time. The original rush was probably replaced by the Dunsmuirs.

This chair was made in 1902 and is ideally suited for display in Craigdarroch’s Dunsmuir-era interiors. Its Dunsmuir provenance further enhances its value to the Primary Collection.

History of Use

This mahogany chair was acquired at the Hatley Park auction by native Victorian, Bruce Brown (1914-2002), or his parents. It stayed in his family until 1989, when he and his wife Dorothy gave it to Royal Roads Military College (RRMC). When RRMC closed, the chair was transferred (donated) by the federal government's Department of National Defence to the University of Victoria’s Maltwood Museum & Gallery, which has transferred (donated) the chair to The Castle Society. 

Date

1902

Dimensions

92 cm x 45 cm x 44 cm

Material

Wood, mahogany; Leather

Technique

Turned; Varnished; Upholstered

School/Style

Arts & Crafts

Country of Origin

United Kingdom