First Pictish throne built in over a thousand years

The throne was commissioned by The Glenmorangie Company and National Museums Scotland  to aid understanding of the Early Historic people of Scotland and their society.

This period of Scotland's early history between 300-900AD has many myths associated with it and is widely accepted to warrant more research. The Pictish throne is the first to be built in over a thousand years and was created by master furniture maker Adrian McCurdy whose design was inspired by depictions on some of the first Pictish sculptured stones to feature important people seated on thrones.

The throne has been commissioned as part of a three year partnership between The Glenmorangie Company and National Museums Scotland to support the study and understanding of people of Early Historic Scotland. An important aspect of the partnership and research has been working with contemporary craftspeople, like Adrian McCurdy, to make versions of objects from this Early Historic period that provide significant insights into the skills and techniques used by the Picts and the sophistication of the society they lived in. 

The throne is currently on display in the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh until 26 March 2010.

David Clarke, Keeper of Archaeology at National Museums Scotland, said:

“Thrones were symbols of authority and power and as such would have been a very important part of Early Historic Scottish society that has hitherto been rather overlooked. There are no surviving examples of thrones from Early Historic Scotland and during the process of recreating this piece we’ve learnt so much about the design, manufacture and use of these thrones. It’s very exciting to see this type of throne brought to life for the first time in over a thousand years.”

To see more objects from prehistory, visit the Early People gallery, on Level 0 of the National Museum of Scotland.