Rare Provincial Folk Art Architectural Model of a Chapel

The Removable Roof Opening to Reveal the Detailed Furnished Interior
Hand Carved and Painted Wood and Various Media
Scottish, Inscribed "Argyle Square Chapel, made and presented by the late Robert Grund, 1841"

Provenance: Scottish Private Collection, Edinburgh.

12" high x 16 ¼" wide x 15 ¼" deep

Argyle Square Chapel (formerly known as North College Street Chapel) was built in 1802 and founded by John Aikman, its first Minister.

Sculptural objects and works now described as “Folk Art” come in various forms and media. As in the case of this unique and documentary architectural model, they invariably reflect the personality and even the profession of their creators. Although provincial, even “rustic” in material character, this model of a chapel that no longer exists, is crawling with detail and skilful creativity. The building itself is decorated with details of the exterior stonework along with all the windows, doorways and even the gradient of the land the real chapel was built on. The “tiled” roof is removable and opens to reveal an interior fashioned from wood and card, all made to scale and still in remarkable untouched condition, including the pews, and pulpit. The model bears a  handwritten inscription which reads “Argyle Square Chapel, made and presented by the late Robert Grund, 1841” so we know the maker, but nothing about him! We also don’t know who Mr Grund presented the model too, nor what the occasion of the presentation was, nor anything further about Mr Grund himself, apart from the fact he had an innate understanding of architecture, building, scale and craftsmanship. What we do know, is that this is a significant work of antique Scottish Folk Art, fashioned from humble materials in extraordinary detail it is unquestionably a labour of love and a rare provenanced example of vernacular architectural modelling. Made from scratch, from a variety of media to scale and decorated by hand. Charmingly authentic and unquestionably unique.