Scottish Gold exhibition set to shine
Scottish Gold
14 March – 15 June 2014
Hunterian Art Gallery
Admission £5.00/£3.00
A spectacular new exhibition at the Hunterian Art Gallery is set to shine when it opens in March.
Scottish Gold brings together a glittering array of the finest gold specimens and objects from The Hunterian collection and other institutions across the UK, including the British Museum and National Museums Scotland.
The exhibition explores the use of gold in Scotland from prehistoric times to the present, offering an informative look at the history and cultural significance of the often valuable and highly sought-after precious metal.
Focussing on the occurrence of gold in Scotland and Scottish gold mining, the show also covers the natural history of gold, the first use of gold coinage in Scotland and the infamous Darien disaster of the late 1600s.
Amongst the many treasures on display will be the ‘cloth of gold’ from the tomb of Robert the Bruce; a multitude of Scottish gold coins including a bonnet piece of James V; Bronze and Iron Age gold torcs including the hoard from Law Farm, Morayshire; a gold ampulla used at the Scottish Coronation of Charles I; the King’s Gold Cup from the Leith races of 1751 and ten of the largest gold nuggets found in Scottish rivers.
Contemporary items include an 18 carat solid gold quaich made by Scottish goldsmith Graham Stewart and a Millennium gold medal produced by Malcolm Appleby for the Royal Society of Edinburgh.
Scottish Gold offers a unique opportunity to learn about the precious metal as part of the natural history of Scotland and our close relationship with it over millennia.
The exhibition runs from 14 March until 15 June 2014 and admission is £5.00 (£3.00 concession).
Hunterian Art Gallery
82 Hillhead Street
University of Glasgow
Glasgow G12 8QQ
Open Tuesday – Saturday 10.00am – 5.00pm and Sunday 11.00am – 4.00pm
Closed Monday
Admission to the Art Gallery is free – admission charge for special exhibitions
For further information contact:
Neil Clark, Curator
Neil.Clark@glasgow.ac.uk
For images contact:
Harriet Gaston, Communications Manager
Harriet.Gaston@glasgow.ac.uk
Notes to Editors
The Hunterian
The Hunterian is Scotland's oldest public museum and home to one of the largest collections outside the National Museums. It is one of Scotland’s most important cultural assets and one of the leading university museums in the UK. Its collections have been Recognised as a Collection of National Significance.
Built on Dr William Hunter’s founding bequest, The Hunterian collections include scientific instruments used by James Watt, Joseph Lister and Lord Kelvin; outstanding Roman artefacts from the Antonine Wall; major natural and life sciences holdings; Hunter’s own extensive anatomical teaching collection; one of the world’s greatest numismatic collections; impressive ethnographic objects from Captain Cook’s Pacific voyages and a major art collection.
The Hunterian is also home to the world’s largest permanent display of the work of James McNeill Whistler, the largest single holding of the work of Charles Rennie Mackintosh and The Mackintosh House, the reassembled interiors from his Glasgow home.
The Hunterian continues in its Age of Enlightenment mission to be a central resource for research and teaching in the arts, humanities and natural and medical sciences, attracting scholars and visitors from around the world.
First published: 29 January 2014