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Blog post
National Museums Scotland supporting emerging Silversmiths: Jessica Jue & Hazel Thorn
In the second of our guest blogs, Sarah Rothwell, Curator of Modern and Contemporary Design at National Museums Scotland, shares the story of the continued relationship between National Museums Scotland and the P&O Makower Trust.Rothwell, Sarah
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Materialising Mary Queen of Scots at National Museums Scotland: A Renaissance Queen
In today’s blog, Dr Anna Groundwater (Principal Curator, Renaissance and Early Modern History, National Museums Scotland) walks us virtually through the Renaissance Gallery, at the National Museums Scotland in Chambers Street, Edinburgh, and reflects on the various Maries we create from objects.Groundwater, Anna
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Exhibiting Mary: challenges and opportunities
Today’s blog by David Forsyth (Principal Curator, Modern and Contemporary Scottish History, National Museums Scotland) was part of the project’s virtual workshop on ‘Re-presenting Mary: challenges and opportunities’, held on 7 August 2020. David discusses his experience of curating the last major Mary exhibit in Scotland, which also launched the...Forsyth, David
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These are not Viking swords
Swords of the Viking Age are some of the most iconic objects of the early medieval period. The very word ‘Viking’ conjures images of warriors, at least judging by the covers of books on Viking-age history and archaeology.Maldonado, Adrián
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Looting Scotland in the Viking Age
In 795 AD one of the first recorded Viking raids in Britain took place at the monastery of Iona in what is now Scotland. Dozens of raids and battles would follow, leading to the plunder of people, cattle, and, of course, portable wealth by Vikings.Maldonado, Adrián
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Stories from small things – a remarkable Roman brooch
Fraser Hunter is the principal curator of Iron Age and Roman collections at National Museums Scotland. His primary research interests are understanding Iron Age decorative metalwork (“Celtic art”) in its European context, understanding the impact of the Roman world on the peoples of Scotland in its Empire-wide context and making...Hunter, Fraser
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Romans in your letterbox
One of our most prized Roman artefacts has received the ultimate accolade – it’s featured on a Royal Mail stamp.Hunter, Fraser
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National Museums Scotland supporting emerging silversmiths: Hamish Dobbie
In the first of our guest blogs, Sarah Rothwell, Curator of Modern & Contemporary Design at National Museums Scotland, shares the story of the relationship between National Museums Scotland and the P&O Makower Trust.Rothwell, Sarah
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Collecting the present
Contemporary collecting has been a hot topic for many museums for several years now. Curators have adopted several different approaches to ensuring their institutions are responsive and capturing the important issues of the time so that present and future visitors are better able to understand and learn from the experience...Breward, Chris
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Time travelling at National Museums Scotland
As the clocks change back to Greenwich Mean Time and days shorten towards Winter Solstice, the sensation of passing time seems more acute than ever. A few days ago I visited our National Museums Collection Centre at Granton in North Edinburgh where time's disorientating effects are set out in concrete...Breward, Christopher
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Golden moments researching the Galloway Hoard part one: tracing golden threads
In 2017, hundreds of generous donors saved the Galloway Hoard for the nation. But their generosity did more than save the hoard; it enabled us to start conserving and researching it, opening a unique window into Viking-age Scotland’s relationship with Britain, Ireland and the wider world, over a millennium ago.Goldberg, D Martin
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Golden moments researching the Galloway Hoard part two: hidden constellations of gold
This is the second of two posts tracking my research journey with the Galloway Hoard over the last two years. We always knew that the Galloway Hoard would be important for enhancing our understanding of Scotland’s international connections in the 9th century AD, but some of the moments of revelation...Goldberg , D Martin
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Picts ‘n Mix: complex identities in the Viking age
The Picts are best known for pulling off one of Scottish history’s most famous disappearing acts. What, or who, accounts for them vanishing from the historical record after AD900? In the northern isles, the Pictish language seems to disappear completely. The blame often falls on the Vikings, who attacked Scotland...Maldonado, Adrián
Archaeology, Picts , Scottish History, Vikings, and Shetland
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I don't do things by halves - The incredible conservation of the James Bruce drinking horn (Part 1)
Last year I encountered the most challenging object in my career as conservator so far – the James Bruce drinking horn. Dirty, cracked and broken into two distinct parts it was a long way from its original condition over 250 years ago. This is the story of the horn’s incredible...Messerschmidt, Lydia
Legacies Of Empire, Ethiopia, Conservation , and War
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I don't do things by halves - The incredible conservation of the James Bruce drinking horn (Part 2)
Nearly a metre in length, 250 years old and broken into two shattered halves, the James Bruce drinking horn represented an epic challenge in my conservation career. This is the conclusion of the horn’s incredible conservation journey.Messerschmidt, Lydia
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Geometric Variations . . Paolozzi the designer
Paolozzi is celebrated for his robust larger-than-life sculptures but as Sarah Rothwell, curator at National Museums Scotland points out, Paolozzi worked extensively & brilliantly as a designer on the smaller-scale.Rothwell, Sarah
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Collecting marine mammals
Our natural sciences collection includes an internationally significant collection of marine mammals. In this post, Curatorial Preparator Georg Hantke explores how that collection continues to grow and how it informs new understanding of the whales, dolphins and porpoises found around the coasts of Scotland.Hantke, Georg
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Inspiring body, mind and spirit
It’s been over two months since I wrote my last blog post and once again our museums are closed, but we look forward to re-opening and a life beyond lockdown.Breward, Christopher
LGBT History Month , Digital Media , Sculpture, LGBTQIA+, and Art And Design
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Stories in stone the lost history of Indian sculpted deities
Friederike Voigt explains how research carried out 200 years ago has helped her piece together the lost history of sculpted deities brought to Scotland from IndiaVoigt, Friederike
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Taking the Buddha out of Buddhism
At first sight, two of our large Buddhist sculptures appear to have similar stories. Dig a little deeper, and everything is not as it seems. Our Japan Foundation Assistant Curator Marjolein de Raat compares these statues as she explores their origins, the Victorian fascination with the ‘exotic’ and cultural appropriation.De Raat, Marjolein