Standing room only

Rather than have intrusive barriers protect the chairs on display at the
Dunedin Public Art Gallery, pine cones have been called in to do the job. On a study tour of country houses in the UK, a staff member apparently observed the use of pine cones as Do Not Sit signals. At first it seems rather too close for comfort, but you do get used to it. To make it even better, the conservators have put small sheets of acetate underneath the pine cones to stop them staining the fabric. We’re not sure what they have done to protect the acetate. Who knows where this cone idea came from (that’s a plea for information rather than a rhetorical question), but it sure beats stanchions and velvet ropes.