Kingswood School Cranbrook Bench Cover for Seat in Second Floor Hall (Scandinavia)
This textile Fragment from the bench cover for the built-in seat in Kingswood School Cranbrook’s second floor hall , designed by Loja Saarinen. This textile fragment once adorned the benches of "Scandinavia," a lounge area on the second floor of Kingswood. Its deep wool pile was inspired by traditional Finnish Riya rugs that were often used as wall hangings.
Though the color scheme is different, the bench cover is identical in pattern to the one designed for Saarinen House's studio alcove (known as the "Cozy Corner"). It was designed to drape over the bench seating and reach to the floor and is unified in color with the rug for the floor. The pattern repeats the stepped chimney design of Kingswood School Cranbrook (which is also on the ceiling of the dining hall). It is a hand-woven, high pile, knotted bench/settee rug.
Kevin Adkisson
Curator
Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research
April 2024
Width: 43 1/2 in (110.5 cm)
ProvenanceCranbrook Foundation (1931-1973)
Cranbrook Educational Community (1973-present)
Credit LineCranbrook Center for Collections and Research
Cultural Properties Collection, Cranbrook Kingswood Upper School - Kingswood Campus
Medium | MaterialsWool pile, wool weft, linen warp, plain weave with Riya-knotted pile
GenreObject TypeCovers (overlying objects); Fragments (object portions)
Select Exhibition History"Room for a Lady: Loja Saarinen at Cranbrook." Dir. Kevin Adkisson. Elkhorn Media and Entertainment/Cranbrok Center for Collections and Research, 2022. 46 min.
Art in Architecture: The Collaborative Spirit of the Interwar Period in Detroit
Marshall M. Fredericks Sculpture Museum, February 5 to May 28, 2011
Cranbrook Affiliation
- Saarinen Family
- Cranbrook Foundation Staff
