5 - 11 Sir Duncan Rice Library
The Sir Duncan Rice Library is usually open weekdays and weekends but it has variable opening hours. Check the library's webpage for current hours.
The artworks listed here are all in the ground floor atrium which is open to the public.
Spiral State
Revolving period with formation of planets
Adam and Eve
Black man with lion
Red man with buffalo
Cruickshank windows (1906)
Douglas Strachan (1875 - 1950, Aberdeen)
These stained glass windows formed part of the 1906 Cruickshank Window of Marischal College library that was designed by Aberdeen-born Douglas Strachan (1875-1950). These windows, the upper part of the window, represent the stages of the Biblical Creation, including the formation of the planets, the creation of animals, and Adam and Eve. They were originally paired with long lower windows that depicted the sciences that studied them. The central window in the scheme, with its lower section is now on loan to the Scottish Design Gallery in the V&A Dundee.
Statue of Ganesha
Ganesha, the son of Lord Siva and Goddess Parvati is considered to be the remover of obstacles, the patron of arts and sciences and the deva of intellect and wisdom. This statue was collected from the ruins of a temple in Java, Indonesia.
Tillytarmont Pictish stone
This stone was uncovered in the 1970s on a narrow spit of land between the rivers Isla and Deveron, close to where another five carved stones have been found. The symbols on this one are particularly finely carved, being an eagle and a ‘Pictish beast’. A small cairn of stones was also found, supporting the idea that this stone may have marked the burial of a powerful person in the 6th or 7th centuries AD.
Statue of Amenirdis
Amenirdis I was the ruler of Thebes about 714-700 BC. Her statue was found in a temple built under the orders of Amenirdis I and her brother Shabaka, the third Kushite king to rule over Egypt. This is a plaster cast of the original alabaster statue which is in The Grand Egyptian Museum, Cairo.
Sir Duncan Rice (2014)
Alexander Stoddart (born 1959, Edinburgh)
Sir Duncan Rice was Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Aberdeen from 1996 to 2010.
Alexander ‘Sandy’ Stoddart studied at the Glasgow School of Art, and is best known for his public monuments of historic figures, such as sculptures in Edinburgh of the philosophers David Hume and Adam Smith. He is deeply critical of modernism and contemporary art, and scornful of "public art", preferring to work in the neoclassical tradition, saying that his “great ambition is to do sculpture for Scotland”.
Judgement of Solomon
Not currently on display.
David and Goliath
David and Abigail
Solomon and Queen of Sheba
Jephthah and his daughter
Not currently on display.
King's Paintings (1650-1670)
These paintings were hung at Gowrie House in 1650, while Presbytarian ministers attempted to persuade Charles II to sign the National Covenant. This was a pledge ensure Scotland's religious freedom. The Covenant was created as a reaction to Charles I's attempts to interfere in worship in Scotland.
The paintings, by unknown artists, concern themes of kingship and faith. They may have been created to communicate certain ideas to Charles II during his stay at Gowrie House. Why and when the paintings came to the University of Aberdeen is unknown - they are first recorded hanging in King's College in 1823.
Tapestry (2026)
Sekai Machache and Dovecot Studios
To be installed autumn 2026!