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Book
The carnyx in Iron Age Europe : the Deskford carnyx in its European context [2]
The carnyx, an animal-headed bronze horn, once echoed across Iron Age Europe. Now, after centuries of silence, this book presents a full picture of this dramatic instrument for the first time. It considers the rare surviving fragments, with a detailed study of the Deskford carnyx from north-east Scotland, alongside depictions...Hunter, Fraser
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Book
Ecomorphology of Cyclorrhaphan Larvae (Diptera)
This book offers an overview of the larva of Diptera Cyclorrhapha. It first discusses the principal forms, functions and roles of larvae, and then evaluates feeding, locomotion and respiration in larval saprophages, phytophages and zoophages as keys to understanding and predicting larval morphology. It also highlights how the environment affects... -
Book
Histeridae, Sphaeritidae and Silphidae of Britain and Ireland
The Histeridae and Silphidae atlas covers 75 beetle species in three families. Histeridae: the clown beetles. Sphaeritidae: the false clown beetles Silphidae: the carrion beetles. Many of these large charismatic beetles are associated with decaying organic matter, including carcasses, dung and dead wood. Several species are widespread and common in...Lane, S A ; Lucas, C B H ; Whiffin, Ashleigh L
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Book chapter
Museum nature
From Aztec accounts of hibernating hummingbirds to contemporary television spectaculars, human encounters with nature have long sparked wonder, curiosity and delight. Written by leading scholars, this richly illustrated volume offers a lively introduction to the history of natural history, from the sixteenth century to the present day. Covering an extraordinary...Alberti, S J M M
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Book chapter
Sex, art and museums: on the changing institutional censorship of Shunga
rt is continuously subjected to insidious forms of censorship. This may be by the Church to guard against moral degeneration, by the State to promote a specific political agenda or by the art market, to elevate one artist above another. Now, and in the last century, artwork that touches on...Boyd, Louise
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Book chapter
Probing the factors which control degradation in museum collections of cellulose acetate artefacts
Cellulose acetate artefacts in museum collections cover a period from the early 1900's to the present day. Conservators have observed that certain of these objects are showing signs of warping, crazing, cracking, discolouration and shrinkage accompanied by a strong smell of acetic acid. Previous studies on cellulose nitrate artefacts show...Ballany, Jane M ; Littlejohn, D ; Pethrick, R P ; Quye, Anita
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Book chapter
The use of accelerated ageing tests for studying the degradation of cellulose nitrate
Previous studies have shown that high levels of sulphate in cellulose nitrate artefacts may be a cause of increased degradation. Accelerated ageing tests have been used to study and monitor the deterioration of prepared cellulose nitrate samples and artefacts over time. An evaluation has been made of the effects of... -
Book chapter
The Museum of Scotland and conservation issues of commissioned art
The Museum of Scotland is a new building in Edinburgh which opened in November 1998 to present the history of Scotland from its geological beginnings to the present day. This article considers conservation issues within three themes: the building itself as iconic modern architecture and its effect on the exhibition...Tate, Jim ; Clarke, David V ; Spencer, Helen ; Cobo del Arco, B
Scotland), exhibiting, Museum of Scotland (Edinburgh, museology, museums, and modern art
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Book chapter
Plastics conservation – Barbie™ and friends
The chemical sciences and their applications are all around us. Many museums and galleries have scientific departments, and collectors of objects that may not even be "antique" in the strict definition of the word often need to have some scientific knowledge to stop their collection deteriorating. This resource shows how... -
Book chapter
Degradation studies of cellulose nitrate plastics
This book addresses the interaction of principle and practice, of materials, techniques and ideas, which characterise contemporary conservation as a whole.Stewart, R ; Littlejohn, D ; Pethrick, R P ; Quye, Anita ; Tennent, N H
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Book chapter
Monitoring of damage to historic tapestries (MODHT): a newly initiated EU project
The trade in dyestuffs has played an important role in the economic history of many nations. In medieval Europe this is demonstrated by the important place held by woad in the economy of many countries, but while the woad industry of Toulouse or Erfurt is quite well known, that of...Quye, Anita
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Book chapter
Technologies of the self: painted pebbles, ornaments and the burial
During the late 1st millennium BC into the early 1st millennium AD, the small island of Unst in the far north of the Shetland (and British) Isles was home to well-established and connected farming and fishing communities. The Iron Age settlement at Milla Skerra was occupied for at least 500...Goldberg, D Martin ; Hunter, Fraser
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Book chapter
Development of analytical techniques for the study of natural yellow dyes in historic textiles
Interest in all aspects of dyestuffs has grown considerably since an informal meeting of researchers twenty years ago developed into the annual meetings of Dyes in History and Archaeology, with the journal of the same name publishing a selection of papers presented. Analysis has revealed that the early 20th-century clothing...Ferreira, Ester S B ; Quye, Anita ; McNab, Hamish ; Wouters, J ; Boon, J J …
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Book chapter
Appendix 1. The pre-2500 BC individuals
Some 17 individuals sampled for the BPP can be assigned to the Neolithic period, either on the basis of radiocarbon dating (n=12) or because of their contextual associations (n=5). In some cases (such as Liffs Low, Derbyshire) the selection had been deliberate: they were known to be Neolithic when they...Jay, Mandy ; Montgomery, Janet ; Pearson, Mike Parker ; Sheridan, J A
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Book chapter
Historical and analytical research of dyes for early Scottish tartans
Papers in this volume cover various aspects of the deterioration of textiles and the different scientific techniques that can be applied to investigate the characteristics of historic textiles, their fibres, dyes etc. The authors include textile, paper and painting conservators, conservation scientists, chemists, archaeologists, engineers, biochemists and a zoologist. This...Cheape, Hugh ; Quye, Anita
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Book chapter
Early People
Eduardo Paolozzi (1924-2005) was one of the greatest Scottish and European artists of the 20th Century. He was a prolific sculptor and printmaker as well as an inspirational teacher. His was an exceptional talent, drawing on culture in all its forms, from Classical myths to comics and ephemera. Most would...Clarke, David V
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Book chapter
Shale analysis. In: Arabaolaz, Iraia. 2019. Beside the River Ayr in prehistoric times: excavations at Ayr Academy
Archaeological interventions at Ayr Academy, Ayrshire revealed a number of pits and postholes on a raised beach on a terrace of the River Ayr dating from the late Mesolithic to the late Bronze Age. One group of pits and postholes probably defines a middle Bronze Age burial ground. The environmental...Hunter, Fraser
lithic artefacts, prehistoric structure and pits, Palimpsest site, and prehistoric pottery
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Book chapter
Objects of the past in the past in the past
How did past communities view, understand and communicate their pasts? And how can we, as archaeologists, understand this? In recent years these questions have been approached through studies of the extended occupation and use of landscapes, monuments and artefacts to explore concepts of time and memory. But what of objects...Knight, Matthew G ; Boughton, Dot ; Wilkinson, Rachel E
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Book chapter
Doughtful associations? Assessing Bronze Age 'multi-period' hoards from northern England, Scotland and Wales
How did past communities view, understand and communicate their pasts? And how can we, as archaeologists, understand this? In recent years these questions have been approached through studies of the extended occupation and use of landscapes, monuments and artefacts to explore concepts of time and memory. But what of objects...Knight, Matthew G
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Book chapter
Early Medieval beads
The crannog on Llangorse Lake near Brecon in mid Wales was discovered in 1867 and first excavated in 1869 by two local antiquaries, Edgar and Henry Dumbleton, who published their findings over the next four years. In 1988 dendrochronological dates from submerged palisade planks established its construction in the ninth...Redknap, Mark ; Davis, Mary
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Collecting and displaying Japanese culture in 19th-century Scotland
Disciplinary boundaries are inevitable within a complex academic system and as those boundaries shift with time, the problem of speaking across them only increases. The scholars today who study the Japanese collections held by British museums are primarily art historians or archaeologists, but the context in which these collections were...Buckland, Rosina
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Lecture
(Re)discovering the Gaulcross Hoard and other early medieval silver
Lecture by Alice Blackwell and Dr Martin Goldberg of National Museums Scotland and Dr Gordon Noble of the University of Aberdeen at the 2015 Archaeological Research in Progress (ARP) conference, Saturday 30 May 2015.Goldberg, D Martin ; Blackwell, Alice ; Noble, Gordon
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Lecture
Alexander Henry Rhind and Archaeology
A look at how Rhind’s work in Scotland informed his pioneering work in Egypt, advocacy for the protection of antiquities in both Scotland and Egypt, and his role in devising the original displays of British, Scottish, and Egyptian artefacts at the National Museum of AntiquitiesMaitland, Margaret
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Conference paper (unpublished)
Keeping natural history collections healthy: preventing deterioration in store and on display
Ogilvie, Ticca M A
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Conference paper (unpublished)
National Museums Scotland, Digital Collecting in Museums, 2020
A multi-disciplinary group of museum and heritage professionals with shared interests in collecting born-digital material met at the National Museum of Scotland on 11 March 2020 to discuss best practice and opportunities. The symposium included a range of papers outlining different approaches to collecting and interpreting digital entities, with definite...Alberti, Samuel J M M ; Angus, Sonny ; Laurenson, Sarah ; Osborn, Molly ; Volkmer, Laura M B
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Lecture
The Storrar Coverlet: a double weave tradition in Scotland and Scandinavia
Coverlet in red and yellow wool, woven in a double weave with a geometric design of birds, a chequered band and the date 1729 at each end. Formerly in the possession of the Storrar family of Nether Urquhart, Fife: probably made in Sweden.Wyld, Helen
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Conference paper (unpublished)
From Edo to Edinburgh: Curating Japan at National Museums Scotland
The conference will explore cultural connections between the visual and material cultures of Scotland and Japan. It will bring together academics, independent researchers, curators, archivists and artists to share new research in the area, as well as to exchange ideas, and engage in lively discussions related to the shared art...Boyd, Louise
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Lecture
Exploring the climate crisis through collections and programming at National Museums Scotland
Climate change has a profound impact on communities of the North and their way of life. As Russia assumes the Chairmanship of the Arctic Council in 2021-2023, we open a conversation about the Arctic as a unique eco system and focus on the sustainable development of the region and what...Higgitt, Rebekah
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Lecture
Insects - The little things that run your Garden
Gardens can support an incredible diversity of insects, but beyond butterflies and bees, how aware are you of these 6-legged neighbours? Do you know what bizarre behaviours and essential services are occurring in the undergrowth? Join Ashleigh as she shares her passion for some of the unconventionally charismatic insects, and...Whiffin, Ashleigh L
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Conference paper (unpublished)
Brough of Birsay revisited: a new look at the Pictish workshop
Maldonado, Adrián
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Master's dissertation
After-hours events: a product for attracting, engaging and retaining new musum audiences? A case study of National Museums Scotland
Cultural heritage is recognised as one of the major contributors to the economy. As a result, museums have moved away from their traditional role as collectors and conservators of artefacts of historical importance, to become more audience focused. The recognition by museums of an obligation to meet the needs and...Easson, Hilary
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Doctoral thesis
Making music of the world accessible: three significant non-Western music collections in European Museums
This sub-thesis presents a study of non-Western music collections held in three separate European museums. The museums under investigation are the Horniman Museum in London, the Tropenmuseum in Amsterdam and the National Museums Scotland in Edinburgh. It surveys how these museums acquire, research interpret and exhibit non-Western music collections in...Moloney, Kylie
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Democratising knowlege and visualising progress: illustrations from Chambers's Encylopaedia, 1859-1892
In the 19th century, the Scottish firm of W. & R. Chambers transformed the publishing model of encyclopaedias from a book aimed at the elite to a tool for mass education. This multidisciplinary study examines the design of the first two editions of Chambers's Encyclopaedia, focusing on their illustrations and...Roberto, Rose
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The development and application of analytical methods for the identification of dyes on historical textiles
The analytical investigation of several historically important natural yellow and red dye sources is presented, extending previous work on the chemical characterisation of the acid hydrolysed extracts from dyed yarns. The PDA HPLC studies of weld (Reseda luteola L.) dyed yarn extracts found that neither the substrate nor additional steps...Peggie, David A
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Lecture
Conservation of the Galloway Hoard. The richest collection of rare and unique Viking-age objects ever found in Britain or Ireland.
The hoard was found in 2014 and an exhibition is now on tour in Scotland after extensive research and conservation work. It was a true conservation challenge having a variety of material (glass, rock crystal and other minerals, minerally preserved organics) in addition to the precious metals. The lecture will...Goldberg, Martin ; Davis, Mary
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Still image
Carved powder-horn. Accession no. M.1931.581
Carved powder-horn bearing the names of Jonathon Webb and James Cameron and hung on an American Indian woman's burden strap, inscribed 1 September 1758, carried by a soldier of the 42nd Royal Highlanders. Accession no. M.1931.581. Image refNational Museums Scotland
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Still image
Large disc brooch from the Viking-Age Galloway Hoard
Large disc brooch made of two discs riveted together. Decorative silver front disc plate made of pierced silver. The back disc is copper alloy with possible gilt surface on one side which is visible through the pierced silver disc surface. The pin is riveted through the back disc and possibly...National Museums Scotland
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Lecture
Hidden treasure of National Museums Scotland revealed: A silk rug with Tree of Life by Kashani master weaver Mohtasham
This fine silk rug features a large flowering tree. Likely never used, the multiple colours of the rug’s dazzling array of blossoms are magnificently preserved. The weaver of this exquisite piece, Hajj Molla Mohtasham, ran one of the most successful carpet manufactures in 19th-century Kashan. Mohtasham rugs are highly prized...Voigt, Friederike
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Lecture
Climate change: a time travel adventure
Join climate campaigner and author Alice Bell in a trip through time to the decisions, inventions and accidents which created the warming world we’re living in today – and how it could have ended up quite differently. Beginning with the discovery of CO2 in Edinburgh, travel through the pioneering age...Bell, Alice ; Higgitt, Rebekah
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Conference paper (unpublished)
Complex identities and the Galloway Hoard
It is ten years since the Silverdale Hoard, one of the largest Viking-age hoards ever found in England, was discovered in a field in Lancashire. To celebrate its display at the JORVIK Viking Centre throughout 2022, the Richard Hall Symposium this year focuses on hoards: their concealment, their rediscovery, and...Goldberg, D Martin
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Lecture
The Galloway Hoard
Goldberg, D Martin
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Book chapter
The hoard of gaming pieces from Lewis, Scotland: The context and meaning
The Lewis hoard of gaming pieces is possibly the most iconic find of medieval material culture discovered in the British Isles. They are more plentiful, more elaborate (combing both figurative and abstract pieces) and more opaque in their find circumstances than the pieces from Sandomierz, but like them appear to...Caldwell, David ; Hall, Mark A
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Lecture
Ancient African Queens: New perspectives on Black history
Join our panel as they discuss how reassessing 19th and 20th century colonial attitudes can bring new perspectives to fascinating aspects of ancient Egyptian culture and its place in African history.Maitland, Margaret ; Ashby, Solange
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Lecture
War and diplomacy on the northern frontier
Fraser Hunter's talk for our branch is titled "War and Diplomacy on the Northern Frontier" and will focus on the relations between Romans and locals in this area of the Empire.Hunter, Fraser
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Lecture
Ice Age Fauna of Scotland and the Loch Ryan Mammoths
Scotland is renowned today for its rich and varied wildlife but have you ever wondered what lived here in the past? Andrew Kitchener, Principle Curator of Vertebrates at National Museum of Scotland, presents a talk about creatures that lived in Scotland during the Ice Ages. The talk will include a...Kitchener, Andrew
Stranraer, mammoth, Ice age, and Rhins of Galloway
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Journal article
Northern Modernist Jewellery – a museum collecting project
In 2015 National Museums Scotland was awarded an Art Fund New Collecting Award to collect, research and disseminate jewellery designed and created in Britain and the Nordic States between 1945-1978. The project highlighted a legacy of transnational influences and traditions within Northern Europe, particularly shared cultural heritage, the influence of...Rothwell, Sarah
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Lecture
The Fossil Insects of Scotland
Fossil insects are rare in Scotland, though those that are found are significant and are from four periods: Specimens from the Lower Devonian Rhynie Chert of Aberdeenshire are the oldest in the world; a few species are known from the Upper Carboniferous Coal Measures of Ayrshire and Fife; as yet...Ross, Andrew J
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Lecture
Insights into the Dan Klein Collection
The British Museums Object Conservator Stefka Bargazova and National Museums Scotland Senior Curator of Modern & Contemporary Design Sarah Rothwell join us to discuss the Dan Klein Conservation Project, a wonderful collaborative project that they initiated in 2017 that brought conservators, curators, and practitioners together to share their knowledge to...Bargazova, Stefka ; Rothwell, Sarah
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Presentation
Guest Curator at Craft Scotland Conference 2022 - The Power of Glass Symposium at the National Museum of Scotland
Sarah Rothwell is the Senior Curator of Modern & Contemporary Design, in the Department of Global Arts, Cultures and Design at National Museums Scotland (NMS). Where she is responsible for the British, European and other 'Western' glass, ceramics, metalwork, jewellery and industrial design circa 1945-present collections. Her research focuses on...Rothwell, Sarah
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Video
My Job at the Museum - Enabler
Enablers are part of the team who help people learn more about the museum’s collections by delivering workshops, events and activities. This job is all about People and Communication. Would your pupils like to do a job like this? Many face-to-face aspects of the Enabler job role have changed during...Bull, Lucy
Museum, Enablers, Creative Careers Week, Workshops, Learning Team, Programmes, and Education
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Presentation
Directing Museums with Diverse Bio-Cultural Collections
Museums with diverse natural and cultural collections face special challenges – from how to organize seemingly disconnected collections thematically to staff with vastly different scientific or cultural expertise. Speakers from museums with diverse collections report from their institutions on successful or failed conceptual strategies, with an eye to practical solutions....Tindal, Brenda ; Roldán-Alzate, Oscar ; Breward, Chris
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Presentation
Extending the archive of life: Contemporary collecting in Natural Sciences at National Museums Scotland
What objects will tell the stories of 21st-century Scotland? What themes, events, and ideas represent Scotland today? How do we ‘future proof’ our contemporary collecting? National Museums Scotland is hosting a one-day symposium on contemporary collecting. It will explore how we build representative collections for the future, covering Scotland’s present...Kitchener, Andrew C
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Abstract
Application of DESI–MS for dye analysis of historical textiles
One key issue in the dye analysis field is the need to sample culturally significant objects. This issue is amplified when working with more fragile objects, such as historical textiles, where sampling is often impossible without threatening the structural integrity of the object. To circumvent the impact of dye analysis,...Sandström, Edith ; Vettorazzo, Chiara ; Mackay, C Logan ; Troalen, Lore G ; Alison N, Hulme
museum collections, historical textiles, dye analysis, and mass spectrometry
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Presentation
Preparing to Borrow
Brownlee, Yvonne
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Abstract
Artefacts and Advocacy
Technical artefacts have many meanings over the course of their use-life and museum after life. By engaging with audiences thoughtfully and openly, science museums can use their objects' dynamic biographies to address global challenges we face today. Not least of these is human-induced rapid climate change. Take the trusty tractor...Alberti, S J M M
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Conference paper (unpublished)
William Morris and La Vie Seigneuriale: New light on the revival of tapestry weaving in England
The artist and designer William Morris taught himself to weave in 1879 and went on to produce some of the most celebrated tapestries of the 19th century. But how far can Morris’s writings on the revival of Medieval craft be accepted as the ethos behind his tapestries? Previously overlooked evidence...Wyld, Helen
English tapestry, La Vie Seigneuriale , Tapestry, William Morris, Weaving, England, Medieval craft revival, European tapestry, 19th century , and Arts and crafts
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Conference paper (unpublished)
Bodies of power, bodies of chaos: Occupational stereotyping of disability in Middle Kingdom Egypt
This conference brings together an international team of scholars in a collaborative effort to investigate historical bodies in relations of comparisons and negotiations, to engage in dialogue beyond disciplinary boundaries. Participants were asked to explore how four specific concepts – historical bodies, relations, comparisons and negotiations – can be useful...Maitland , Margaret
Middle Kingdom Egypt, Egypt, Disability , Egyptology, Body, and Stereotyping
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Lecture
Social control in Ancient Egypt
This short talk will explore how culture, interactions, and physical experiences shaped how ancient Egyptians saw themselves and their place in society.Maitland, Margaret
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Lecture
An unpublished cartoon fragment from the Triumphs of Scipio, and the role of England in disseminating Italian tapestry design
Convegno internazionale organizzato dai professori Guy Delmarcel e Koenraad Brosens (KU Leuven), in collaborazione con l'Academia Belgica, 25-26 ottobre 2022 Nell'ottobre 2021 ci ha lasciato Nello Forti Grazzini, riconosciuto a livello internazionale per i suoi studi sugli arazzi antichi. Forti Grazzini ha dedicato numerose pubblicazioni fondamentali agli arazzi dei Paesi...Wyld, Helen
Italien tapestry , Tapestry design, Trade, Tapestry cartoons, Weaving, Artistic relations , Triumphs of Scipio, Italy, European tapestry, and Tapestry
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Presentation
The Art of Tapestry: In Conversation
Join Helen Wyld for the launch of her book The Art of Tapestry in conversation with Dovecot Studios Director Celia Joicey Tapestry expert Helen Wyld presents the first accessible publication on the history of tapestry in over two decades. Helen offers a fresh perspective on the history of tapestry across...Wyld, Helen
Craft, English tapestry, Tapestry design, Method, Weaving, English, National Trust, Material culture, Tapestry history, Production, European tapestry, and Tapestry
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Presentation
Leading Change
Key figures in the sector discuss what type of leadership is needed in times of crisis such as this and what leadership might look like going forward. Our speakers share their experiences of the past two years as they reflect on the challenges that their organisations have faced during the...Breward, Christopher ; Heal, Sharon ; Bell, Leonie ; Lowe, Miranda ; Oke, Arike
Challenges, Leadership, Cost of living crisis, Pandemic, Museum, Climate crisis, Anti-racism, and Decolonisation
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Lecture
Inspiring People: Addressing the challenges of our Age – the work of National Museums Scotland
Chris Breward is the Director of National Museums Scotland. He was trained at the Courtauld Institute and the Royal College of Art, London and has previously worked as Director of Collection and Research at the National Galleries of Scotland, Head of Research at the Victoria & Albert Museum, London and...Breward, Christopher
Challenges, Leadership, Museology, Inspiring, Museum, Scottish museum collections, Identity, and Scotland
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Presentation
Welcome to ‘UKMHF 2022’ and Chair of Creative Change: Collections
This year’s UKMHF aims to embrace change head-on, to apply lessons from recent experience and to look forward. Whether you are a senior leader or consultant, a conservator, curator or archivist, a historian or researcher, a specialist in engagement or interpretation, a volunteer or operator of working craft – or...Greiling, Meredith
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Presentation
Radars in Scotland – History and Developments
History of Radar and Its Relevance in Today’s MarketBrown, Ian
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Book chapter
Grande-Bretagne et Irlande
Knight, Matthew G
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Conference paper (unpublished)
Where are all the ‘Elites’? Hallstatt C metalwork from Britain and connections with the Continent
It is well-established that, in contrast to many parts of the Continent, Britain lacks clear evidence of ostentatious funerary practices so, as a result, evidence of elites during the Hallstatt C period is largely circumstantial. Many bronze and a few iron objects of the Llyn Fawr metalwork assemblage remain some...Knight, Matthew ; O'Connor, Brendan
Halstatt C, hoards, metalwork, bronze swords, socketed axeheads, Llyn Fawr , Early Iron Age, rapezoidal razors, and chapes
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Lecture
The gunflint industry in Brandon and beyond: no flash in the pan
Breckland in the east of England has long been synonymous with man's use of knapped (carefully broken and shaped) flint. In the stone age, millions of axe heads and arrowheads were produced from the large flint mine pits at Grime's Graves, near what is now the Breckland town of Brandon....Anderson-Whymark, Hugo
axe heads, arrowheads, gunflints, Grime's Graves, flint mine, and flintknapper
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Lecture
Destruction and Deposition at Duddingston Loch
Dr Matthew Knight is a Senior Curator of Prehistory at the National Museums Scotland, responsible for the Scottish Chalcolithic and Bronze Age collections. Matthew completed his BSc and MA at the University of Exeter between 2009 and 2014, during which he explored links between Bronze Age metalworking evidence, settlement activities...Knight, Matthew
Research, swords, spearheads, Archaeology, and Bronze Age