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Lecture
CryoArks: Animal biobanking for research and conservation
Join curator Andrew Kitchener and conservation geneticists Gill Murray-Dickson and Helen Senn to discuss how museums and zoos are coming together to share their research and help conserve endangered species around the world.Kitchener, Andrew C ; Murray-Dickson, Gill ; Senn, Helen
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Rediscovering Viking-age Scotland with Michael Wood
Acclaimed historian and broadcaster Michael Wood joins Dr Adrián Maldonado, Glenmorangie Research Fellow, to discuss Adrián’s new book, Crucible of Nations: Viking Age to Medieval Scotland. The book reassesses the museum’s 9—12th century collections, uncovering an exciting new vision of Scotland’s diverse and creative past. Join Adrián and Michael as...Wood, Michael ; Maldonado , Adrián
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Lecture
The Minch torc and its place in Bronze Age Britain and Ireland
In 1991, fishermen pulled up a Bronze Age gold torc while dredging for scallops in the Minch, off the Shiant Isles in the Hebrides. Matt Knight, Senior Curator of Prehistory at National Museums Scotland, explores the significance of the Minch torc and sets it in the wider context of other...Knight, Matthew
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National Museums Scotland Roundtable: “Images of the Buddha: Collecting Histories and the Displays of Buddhist Material in Public Museums”
Research into the nature and the building of public and private collections has been an area of study for scholars and museum professionals for several decades. More recently, the collecting of objects from non-European and indigenous cultures in the context of national imperial histories has come to the front of...Martin, Emma ; Voigt, Friederike ; De Raat, Marjolein ; Cheung, Karwin
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Lecture
The Viking Age in the Borders: an archaeology of the 9-11th centuries
A recent reconsideration of old and new finds in the collections of National Museums Scotland has revealed an important seam of evidence for the Viking Age (9-11th centuries) from the Scottish borderlands. The Tweed may seem a world away from the boat burials of the Northern and Western Isles, but...Maldonado , Adrián
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Lecture
“Metal detecting in Scotland: understanding the extent, it’s character & opportunities for engagement”
Dr Natasha Ferguson, Treasure Trove Unit, National Museums Scotland, and Kevin Munro, Historic Environment Scotland, present a short interactive lecture on “Metal detecting in Scotland: Understanding the extent, it’s character & opportunities for engagement” at the Archaeological Research in Progress (ARP 2017) national day conference on Saturday 27th May 2017...Ferguson, Natasha ; Munro, Kevin
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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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Lecture
Costume Society of America Roundtable: Tackling Tokenism and Diversity in our Museum Collections
Collecting and exhibiting fashion in Western museums has traditionally centered around wealthy, able-bodied, mainstream, Eurocentric ideals. Likewise, those working with costume collections have often fit this same mold. As we know, this is not representative of the diverse communities and cultures that these museums serve. The panelists spoke about how...Sklar, Monica ; Way, Elizabeth ; Lisby, Darnell-Jamal ; Neill, Susan ; Ripley, Georgina …
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Lecture
Collecting Covid-19 part 2: Exploring the methodological approaches and practices to collecting objects and how they changed in 2020
The Covid-19 pandemic continues, but it wasn’t the only event of 2020 that has impacted and shaped our view of the world as movements like Black Lives Matter gained traction and statues of slave owners were toppled. Over two seminars we will look at the ways museums have been recording...Miles, Ellie ; West, Rosamund Lily ; Laurenson, Sarah ; Goggins, Sophie
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Lecture
An evening with Mary Queen of Scots
History Scotland welcomed Dr Anna Groundwater for a special event focusing on Mary Queen of Scots treasures at National Museum of Scotland. Read on for a link to the video, plus Dr Groundwater's suggestions for further reading and study. On 8 December, the evening of Mary Queen of Scots' birthday,...Groundwater, Anna
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Lecture
Celebrating Black Fashion
How are progressive changes within the fashion industry being documented through exhibitions and contemporary collecting? Join model and broadcaster Eunice Olumide as she shares her experience of a transforming industry with museum curator Georgina Ripley. Eunice and Georgina will also discuss Eunice’s recent book How To Get Into Fashion, focussing...Olumide , Eunice ; Ripley, Georgina ; Burkinshaw, Mal
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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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Alexander, 10th Duke of Hamilton and Hamilton Palace: the awe inspiring demonstration of exalted status of the premier peer of Scotland and some final additions from the Beckford bequest
This year’s Beckford Lecture ‘Alexander, 10th Duke of Hamilton and Hamilton Palace: the awe inspiring demonstration of exalted status of the premier peer of Scotland and some final additions from the Beckford bequest’ will be given by Dr Godfrey Evans. Dr Evans is Principal Curator of Decorative Arts, National Museums...Evans, Godfrey
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Lecture
Post-Palissian Ceramics: moving beyond the master
French lead-glazed moulded ceramics are present in many museum collections today but their dating and attribution is often uncertain. This talk will use the collections of the British Museum and National Museums Scotland as its starting point, to summarise past scholarship and to look to the future for these objects....Blakey, Claire ; King, Rachel
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Lecture
The Renaissance Reimagined: Minton, Majolica and Maiolica
From about 1850 the Renaissance Revival inspired the design of both architecture and the decorative arts in Britain, prompting Minton & Co. to bring the arts of the period to the Staffordshire potteries. The lecture will focus on a subgroup of revivalist ware inspired by Italian Renaissance maiolica through the...Blakey, Claire
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Lecture
Making sense of silver: the hacking of the Traprain Treasure
RSE Project: Narratives of Roman Scotland in the Digital Age. Organisers: Manuel Fernández-Götz, Chiara Bonacchi and Rebecca JonesHunter, Fraser
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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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Lecture
Tools of Knowledge: Exploring the Scientific Instrument Trade with Digital Tools
The second edition of the Neuchâtel Seminar in History of Science and Technology – entitled Scientific Objects: Then and Now – aims to reflect on scientific objects and the problems raised by their study by working on two aspects in particular. On the one hand, the seminar will host retrospective...Higgitt, Rebekah
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Lecture
Re-examining the Rubers Law hoard
In 1863 a hoard of bronze vessels and other items was found on the slopes of the hillfort of Rubers Law, near Hawick. Although it crops up in the literature, it has received only cursory attention. In the course of preparing it for display in the revamped Trimontium Trust museum...Hunter, Fraser
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Lecture
Secrets in the stores - an overlooked Iron Age burial from Baledgarno
Fraser Hunter from National Museums Scotland talks about a polished stone disc from The McManus' collection which was discovered in a Tomb at Baledgarno Gravel Pit, and discusses its origins and usage in Iron Age Scotland.Hunter, Fraser
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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
The making of the Typewriter Revolution: a new exhibition on typewriters at the National Museum of Scotland.
The Typewriter Revolution exhibition, which opened at the National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh in July 2021, examines the social and technological impact of typewriters from the mid-nineteenth century to their continued use and popularity in the twenty-first century. James Inglis, whose PhD research has made up a large part of...Inglis, James
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Lecture
Unwrapping the Galloway Hoard
Buried at the beginning of the 10th century in Dumfries and Galloway, the Hoard lay undisturbed for a thousand years before being discovered by a metal detectorist and excavated by an archaeologist in September 2014. Four years of painstaking conservation and research has restored these rare and unique treasures to...Goldberg, Martin ; Maldonado, Adrián
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Lecture
The Gold Cups of Eternal Stability and the Celebration of the Chinese New Year
The Gold Cups of Eternal Stability are among the most extraordinary objects in the Wallace Collection. The Qianlong Emperor ordered them especially for the First Stroke Ceremony, performed on the New Year’s Day in the Forbidden City in Beijing. Their surface is covered with kingfisher feathers, a technique also used...Cao, Qin ; de Wit, Ada
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The Galloway Hoard
Goldberg, D Martin
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Lecture
The Galloway Hoard
Goldberg, Martin
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Lecture
Scotland and the Cold War
For three decades, Scotland was on the frontline in a potential Third World War with the Soviet Union. From the 1960s the west of Scotland was home to Britain’s nuclear deterrent and a key strategic American submarine base. In this talk, Dr Jim Gledhill will examine the Cold War from...Gledhill, Jim
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Lecture
Textiles of the Galloway Hoard
Join Dr Susanna Harris and Dr Alexandra Makin, as they call in to Kirkcudbright Galleries to tell us all about the new, fascinating discoveries from the Galloway Hoard. Buried at the beginning of the 10th century in Dumfries and Galloway, the Hoard lay undisturbed for a thousand years before being...Harris, Susanna ; Makin, Alexandra
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Lecture
Unnwrapping the Galloway Hoard: first research update
Join Dr Martin Goldberg, Principal Curator of Medieval Archaeology & History at the National Museum of Scotland, as he calls in to Kirkcudbright Galleries to tell you all about the new, fascinating discoveries from the Galloway Hoard. Buried at the beginning of the 10th century in Dumfries and Galloway, the...Goldberg, Martin
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Lecture
Conservation: behind the scenes
Join Dr Mary Davis as she gives us behind the scenes access to the conservation process of the Galloway Hoard. Join Dr Mary Davis as she calls in to Kirkcudbright Galleries to tell us all about the fascinating discoveries from the Galloway Hoard. Buried at the beginning of the 10th...Davis, Mary
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Lecture
A trip to Edinburgh: transfer-printed ceramics in the collection of National Museums Scotland
This lecture will explore the collections of British transfer-printed ceramics in the collection of National Museums Scotland which include wares made for export across the globe, as well as pieces which can be used to illustrate the technical processes of transfer printing on pottery.Blakey, Claire
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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
A passion for glass
In 2009 National Museums Scotland was generously donated over 300 pieces of art and studio glass by the passionate collector, supporter, and promoter of contemporary glass Dan Klein (1938 – 2009), which he had amassed both separately, and alongside his partner Alan J. Poole. Klein notably championed the work of...Rothwell, Sarah
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Bones, teeth and gum: How museums can contribute to improving animal welfare
How museums can contribute to improving animal welfareKitchener, Andrew C
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Waking the Dead: promoting and recording Carrion beetles
A talk from the 2022 NFBR Conference at Oxford University Museum of Natural HistoryWhiffin, Ashleigh
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Lecture
An introduction to the marine invertebrate wet collections at National Museums Scotland
Natural History Wet collectionsWare, Fiona
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Lecture
Museums and Medical Knowledge: past, present, and future
Although populated by the dead, medical museums are for the living. From their roots in the Enlightenment, medical practitioners have gathered pathological and anatomical material for clinical and educational benefit. This practice reached its zenith around 1900, when Maude Abbott led a generation of medical curators who gathered, arranged and...Alberti, S J M M
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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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The Galloway Hoard
Goldberg, D Martin
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Lecture
A new Late Bronze Age sword from Swettenham, Cheshire, and its wider context Swettenham
This lecture was delivered by Matt Knight, Senior Curator of Prehistory, National Museums of Scotland, with Vanessa Oakden, Oakden In 2018 five fragments of an almost complete late Bronze Age copper-alloy sword were recovered during metal detecting at Swettenham, Cheshire. The sword falls within the ‘transitional’ group of carp’s-tongue swords...Knight, Matthew ; Oakden, Vanessa ; Jones, Ben ; Brandherm, Dirk
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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
Beyond Treasure: new findings from fieldwork on Scotland’s prehistoric hoards
Hoards evoke stories and generate questions: Why do people collect things, both now and in the past? How do ordinary things become treasured objects? And why do we find these discoveries so fascinating? Hoards help us imagine particular events – the moment of burial, the moment of discovery – but...Freeman, Emily ; Knight, Matthew
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Lecture
The Galloway Hoard latest findings
Hoards evoke stories and generate questions: Why do people collect things, both now and in the past? How do ordinary things become treasured objects? And why do we find these discoveries so fascinating? Hoards help us imagine particular events – the moment of burial, the moment of discovery – but...Goldberg, Martin
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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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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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The Ballachulish Goddess
Come along to Glencoe Folk Museum to learn about the mysterious Ballachulish Goddess from an expert in the field.Hunter, Fraser
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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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Lecture
Diaspora Flows of Cultural Artefacts to and from Africa
In this session we were pleased to welcome keynote speakers who are experts in their specialist research and engagement with Africa’s historic, material culture; architecture, artefacts and their involvement with the curation and presentation of heritage to the public both in the diaspora and in Africa. A key theme of...Kingdon, Zachary ; Chirikure, Shadreck ; Layiwola, Peju ; Aderinto, Saheed ; Lawanson, Taibat …
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Lecture
Dressing the cultural imaginary: whose ‘gypsy’?
Emily Taylor and Benjamin Wild discuss the collector Charles W. Stewart.Tayor, Emily ; Wild, Benjamin Linley
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Lecture
From Gaul to Galloway: Early Celtic Art and Iron Age Connections
Galloway has produced remarkable treasures of early Celtic art such as the Torrs pony cap, found near Castle Douglas, but their stories are little known. Fraser Hunter, principal curator of prehistoric and Roman archaeology at National Museums Scotland, uses art and archaeology as witnesses to the area’s ancient past. How...Hunter, Fraser
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Lecture
Co-evolution of geological and biology from a mineralogical perspective
• Earth's surface harbours at least 5809 known minerals, but when Earth first formed 4.65 billion years ago, it had about 420. Moreover, what is common on the surface today was uncommon then. Many rocks and minerals have come into being while others have become extinct. • The overall increase...Walcott, Rachel
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Lecture
Chasing threads: where next for the Galloway Hoard?
Join Dr Adrián Maldonado as he summarise the main findings from this seminar series, address some recurring audience questions, and discuss the gaps in our knowledge which still remain about the Galloway Hoard. Buried at the beginning of the 10th century in Dumfries and Galloway, the Hoard lay undisturbed for...Maldonado, Adrián
Online Community Seminars, #scotland, Online Seminars, #vikings, Online Events, #history, #heritage, and #gallowayhoard
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Lecture
Place, from a distance: using digital media to go local
Objects in a museum’s collections are often a natural focus for digital media activities – but what about the places the objects come from?International audiences have long been fascinated with Scotland’s historic landscapes and communities. Domestic audiences, partly due to pandemic lockdowns making knowledge of ‘the local’ more integral to...Weinczok , David
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Lecture
A shot in the arm for QR Codes in museums
QR codes in museums & galleries draw strong reactions from many in the GLAM community. The COVID pandemic has given these little black & white squares shot in the arm, but how can museums ensure they’re used considerately and enhance the visitor experience? Adam Coulson has been testing out how...Coulson, Adam
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Lecture
Unwrapping the Galloway Hoard
The Galloway Hoard contains an unusual variety of materials and artefact types beyond the silver bullion so often found in Viking-age hoards. The find included heirlooms, ecclesiastical items (one of which names a previously unknown Northumbrian bishop), and the rare preservation of organic materials wrapping parcels and distinct groups. A...Goldberg, Martin
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Lecture
Buying Power: Archaeologists as Dealers in Egypt and Sudan
Exhibitions and displays of Egyptian objects in museums across the world continue to inspire awe and fascination for millions of visitors. As museums tell the stories of the ancient world, they also tell their own collecting stories of how the objects came to be part of their collections. These narratives...Potter, Daniel
Dealers, Collections, Archaeology, Antiquities, Sudan, John Garstang, Edwin Ward, Charles Trick Currelly, Egypt, and William Matthew Flinders Petrie
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Lecture
Carrion Beetles: Nature's Undertakers
Meet the unsung heroes of the natural world: carrion beetles. Important decomposers and recyclers, most carrion beetles feed and breed on dead animals. Museum curator and carrion beetle specialist, Ashleigh Whiffin introduces us to these delightful decomposers, digs deeper into their complex ecology, and highlights some of the current work...Whiffin, Ashleigh
Silphidae and Coleoptera
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Lecture
Scottish Agates of the National Museums Scotland collection
Join Emily Brown, Assistant Curator of Earth Systems at National Museums Scotland on a journey though agate formation and agate collecting in Scotland, through the lens of the world famous Scottish agate collection at National Museums Scotland. Agates have fascinated people for thousands of years and have particular cultural relevance...Brown, Emily
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Lecture
Community-led collecting and the Exchange project
The £250,000 pilot project, entitled Exchange: Community-Led Collections Research, will see funding distributed to galleries, libraries, archives and museums to work with South Asian, African and Caribbean diaspora organisations to answer research questions identified by these community groups. The year-long project will see National Museums Scotland and the National Maritime Museum, London, working as a hub;...Diver, Iona
Scotland, Scotland's material heritage, Colonial legacies, Community-led , Colonial histories, Collecting, Material heritage, and The Exchange project
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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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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
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Lecture
Preserving What Is Valued
Heather Richardson discusses historic examples of repair and mending in the collections of the Pitt Rivers Museum and National Museums of Scotland in her presentation, “Preserving What Is Valued”Richardson, Heather
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Lecture
‘Two Enlightenment collections of scientific instruments in Hanoverian Britain’
Research into scientific instrument collections over the past forty years has shown that it is only relatively recently that instruments have been collected for antiquarian reasons. This lecture will discuss two long-dispersed collections owned by two Scottish noblemen, and attempt to characterise the reasons for their contents. Both collectors were...Morrison-Low, Alison
microscope, astronomical device, scientific instruments, collectors, and museum collections
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Lecture
Instruments, Institutions and Individuals: The Local Networks of the Royal Observatory, Edinburgh, in the 19th Century
Dr Rebekah Higgitt has been Principal Curator of Science at National Museums Scotland since August 2020. She was previously Senior Lecturer in History of Science at the University of Kent and Curator of History of Science at Royal Museums Greenwich, having done her PhD at Imperial College London and postdoctoral...Higgitt, Rebekah
19th century, scientific instruments, Edinburgh, Astronomy, and Royal Observatory
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Lecture
The Art of Tapestry
On day 1 you will hear from experts in the field and find out more about the Burrell Collection tapestries and Medieval and Renaissance Tapestries in general. We will also document and discuss the artistic value, nature, and identity of 21st century tapestry as a distinctive Scottish art form with...Wyld, Helen
Renaissance , Medieval , and European Tapestries
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Lecture
Revealing and Connecting African Collections in Scottish Museums
The project will establish a collaborative network to enable collection holders to engage with museums in Africa and the Caribbean and people of African and Caribbean descent in Scotland. These partnerships will explore provenance, colonial histories and legacies and the relevance of the collections to descendent and diaspora community interests...Giblin, John ; Grout, Nikki
African collections review, Scottish museums, and partnership project
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Lecture
The Challenges of a Photography Curator
Geoff Belknap is Keeper of the Department of Science and Technology at National Museums Scotland. His talk will offer some ‘behind the scenes’ evidence of the challenges and considerations that have to be borne in mind when caring for a national collection. He has unparalleled experience of working with photography,...Belknap, Geoffrey
photography collections, National Museums Scotland, and conservation
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Lecture
Sacrifice, scrap or something else? Practices of metalwork deposition in Late Bronze Age Britain and Ireland
Throughout the Bronze Age, large quantities of metal artefacts were deposited across Europe. Interpretations often centre around whether these deposits may have been sacrificial offerings to deities or else discarded scrap metal intended for recycling. These grand ideas mask the individual decisions local communities made when depositing their objects, such...Knight, Matthew
recycle, archaeology, Bronze Age Europe, metal depositpion, worship, and sacrificial objects
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Lecture
Viking Panic? Looking for the 9-12th centuries in Argyll
The story of early medieval Argyll is told through overarching narratives: the arrival of the Scots of Dál Riata; incoming missionaries in the age of saints; and the invasions of the Vikings. A recent reassessment of the National Museums Scotland collections from this period emphasises how material culture tells a...