Banff and Buchan Arts Forum - Art in the Environment

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Name	Description
Burnett Arms Hotel, arms of the Duchess of Kent	A polychrome 3 dimensional armorial panel, with the belted royal arms dexter and the Duchese's ? sinister, (I am unsure of the material this is made from it appears to be some sort of plastic compound, like coed stone or gesso).
Carved Stones, Fetternear House	Photo 1:Carved sandstone, fragmented, set in the front of Fetternear House which was destroyed by fire in 1919. Text of top fragment Reads abbr, Jesu Maria with a Greek Cross and another symbol, lower fragment shows the letters PEL, M and I, an outline holly leaf and the date1691. Photo 2: Carved sandstone set in the front of Fetternear House shows the Coat of arms of the Count Patrick Leslie 1693.
Coast Festival,	A large wooden sculpture of a Phoenix was burned to reveal a small metal phoenix.
Dunecht estate office armorial plaque	A large, curious and very imposing armorial plaque on the wall of the estate office in 1920s style. The supporters are particularly unusual they are on the dexter side a man in a diving suit, and on the sinister side a figure in sandals and a fringed poncho intended as a Mexican paeon. These are the arms of Weetman Dickinson Pearson, 1st Viscount Cowdray and MP ( born July 15, 1856, Shelley Woodhouse, Yorkshire, Eng. died May 1, 1927, Dunecht House, Aberdeen, Scot.) who became the sixth richest man in Britain out of the huge wealth he made from exploiting Mexico's first oil production under the dictator Porfirio Diaz. His extensive interests in Mexico, from construction of railways, dams, harbours and tunnels to mining and manufacturing, from rural estates (on the eve of the Mexican Revolution in 1910 Pearson's Mexican Estates Company controlled well over a million acres of land) to his ownership of the 'El Aguila' oil company, meant that he was so often absent from the House of Commons that he earned the nickname 'The Member for Mexico'.
features at Tolquhon castle	Apart from the original Preston tower this is not a building with serious defensive intent, more a stylish country palace. As with the tomb for the same client and the other castles he was involved in the design of, Leper has combined what was then modern style with older traditions to create a fusion that is peculiarly Scottish. He has an approach that resonates with C. R. Mackintosh in a much later era.
Fraser/Saltoun Mausoleum and Jubilee or Temperance Fountain.	There are two Fraser/Saltoun Mausoleums the old one which is situated adjacent to the Old Parish Church and a more recent ? one which stands by itself in the Kirkton cemetery. They are almost identical in Gothic style, with curious stepped pyramid roofs surmounted by obelisks topped with an egg shape. The older 18th cent one is harled and the more recent is in exposed dressed granite. The Jubilee fountain has been moved from elsewhere in the square. It consists of a geometric carved granite base with 4 basins at 2 heights (presumably for dogs and people) surmounted by a blue painted cast iron Victorian extravaganza of a finial adorned with four heraldic beasties, (wyverns ?). It is sad that so many of our fountains no longer provide water or are even connected to a water supply.
Fraserburgh Town Cross	A polychrome market cross with the Royal Arms of Scotland on the North side surrounded by the insignia of the Order of St Andrew, on the South are the Royal Arms of the United Kingdom surrounded by the insignia of the Order of the Garter,on top of a shaft dating from 1736. The south of the shaft bears the burgh arms of Fraserburgh and the north the burgh arms of Faithlie. Faithlie being the burgh that preceeded and grew into Fraserburgh. The granite base dates from 1845. The finial was replaced in 1988 and the whole monument was moved a short distance in 1997.
Macduff soup kitchen/library royal arms.	A standard issue 19th Century? cast metal 'UK Royal Arms', England, Scotland and Ireland (of a form first used from 1838) which adorned a 'public soup kitchen' originally at 21 High St. opened in 1887 to mark Queen Victoria's Jubilee, subsequently the building was the town's library (for man does not live by soup alone). They are of course displayed inverted (for Scotland) in Scotland the Unicorn of Scotland should be shown on the dexter side of the shield in England it is shown sinister. I do not of course know if this was the result of Victorian imperialist cultural insensitivity, bureaucratic ignorance or centralised mass production of soup kitchen decor.
Maiden Stone, Drumdurno	Class II relief carved pink granite Pictish Symbol Stone, 3 metres 20 cm x 86 cm x 25cm. The symbols being the notched rectangle and Z rod and the Pictish Beast (A.K.A. elephant, dolphin) with a mirror and comb qualifier. East face has 4 panels. The top one has various beasts and a Pict headed centaur, The second panel the notched rectangle and Z rod, the third the Pictish Beast and the bottom panel the mirror and comb. The west cross face is very worn it shows a man with arms outstretched between two kelpie type monsters above a ring cross which in turn is above a disc the inner part of which is decorated with an intricate design of spirals (similar to designs in The Book of Kells) with a border of knotwork. The narrow sides are also decorated with intricate interwoven patterns. I include 2 photographs of rubbings on cotton that are in Chapel of Garioch Parish Church, done by the artist Marianna Lines some decades ago and now rather faded themselves (taking rubbings of actual Pictish monuments is against present regulations).
Saltoun Fountain	An Ornate cast iron fountain topped by an ostrich which is part of the town's crest.
Seatree sculpture Banff	Commissioned by Aberdeenshire Council, with funding from Mobil? A stone sculpture in the form of a polygonal pillar with a capitol based on a 6 pointed star. Carved in relief with symbols, fish, shells, whales, ships, Pegasus and a mermaid included and inscriptions. It is inscribed with the motto "touch not the cat but a glove", this is the motto of several clan names: Chattan, MacIntosh, Gow, MacPherson, MacGillivray and etc. In this case I presume it is a reference to the outlaw MacPherson.
Ship Inn public house sign	Ship Inn public house sign, mythical sea monsters and sailing ship depicted in a naive style, based loosely on early maritime chart illustrations
Stuart Royal Arms, Banff	The Stuart Royal Arms built into wall adjacent to Banff's Town house steeple, situated at The Plainstones, res-et and painted. After the union of the monarchy of England and Scotland 10th April 1603 after the ascension of James the VI in 1578 (James the I of England) In Scotland the Unicorn of Scotland is shown on the dexter side of the shield in England it is shown sinister.
Sunshine Plaque Torphins	Polychromed stone relief showing a griffin holding a star and quarter section of a solar disc. Built into a fascinatingly designed house on the Beltie Road.
The 1597 Ceiling, Delgatie	One of the most important surviving 16th century painted ceilings in Scotland The iconography has interesting comparisons to the much earlier Aberdeen Bestiary and even earlier Pictish sculpture.
Tolquhon Tomb and 17th/16th - century tombstones	The Tolquhon Monument, built by Thomas Leper in 1589, of a chocolate- coloured sandstone, to commemorate William Forbes of Tolquhon (perhaps to Forbes' design) and his wife Elizabeth Gordon, is supposed to be the relic of the S. aisle of the old kirk. Rich arched altar tomb mixed gothic and Renaissance motifs inspired by Dunbar tomb at St. Machar's, Cathedral. It is somehow very Scottish in style. Present pedimented setting probably of 1798. The monument is housed in a classical surround believed to be of 1798 in date, though a large porch has been erected by Historic Scotland consisting of sheets of perspex with bronze structural supports. The tombstone is remarkably well preserved with its representative figures, though the structure preserving it rather resembles a domestic green house. Coats of arms as shown for William is 'Forbes quartered with Preston' and shown for his wife is 'Forbes impaled with Gordon'. The charges on the shields show, heads of boars, unicorns and muzzled bears. The unicorns appear again at the top of the arch either side of the crown flanked by hounds hunting on the right a deer and on the left another animal I cannot definitely identify (perhaps a fox or martin).
Unicorn, Delgatie	A pair of stone unicorns gaurding the main entrance of the castle. The late Captain Hay of Delgatie was an inveterate collector and the castle has many decorative elements that are now difficult to attribute to exact dates and provenances.