Treasured, a New Exhibition at the National Museum of Scotland in November
‘Treasured’ opens Friday 14 November 2008 and runs until 2011 at the National Museum of Scotland in Chambers Street, Edinburgh.
The new exhibition offers the chance to discover some of the most extraordinary treasures in the care of National Museums Scotland. Featuring over 300 objects drawn from the four corners of the globe and spanning across centuries, Treasured – Wonderful Things, Amazing Stories celebrates the wonder and diversity of the National Museums’ world-class collections.
From a Sumatran tiger to a Victorian corset, Treasured will be an eclectic mix of the spectacular, extraordinary, precious and personal. The exhibition, opening on 14 November, will provide a link to the Royal Museum collections during closure, casting new light on familiar objects and also giving a first glimpse of some of the objects which will feature in the redeveloped National Museum of Scotland when it re-opens in 2011.
The exhibition focuses on five main themes:
Spectacular will look at spectacular highlights from the collections –from Roman glass through to 19th century ceramics.
Precious examines items which are prized for their rarity, value or significance, from precious metals such as gold through to objects such as a carved ivory lantern, which highlight how precious materials are used in different cultures.
Personal looks at objects which reflect our identity, such as clothing and jewellery – with the chance to try on a Victorian corset and even some replica Samurai armour.
Extraordinary covers those stories, natural and man-made, which have the capacity to amaze us – from a barometer used by James Watt to natural wonders such as a dinosaur footprint.
Amazing Stories, the final section of the exhibition, brings together objects which have fascinating stories, such as those of William Spiers Bruce, Scotland’s greatest polar hero, and Constance Gordon Cummings, the writer and painter who travelled the world in the late 19th century.
Some of the highlights on show in ‘Treasured’ are:
- A Volcano rabbit from Mexico
- A Sri Lankan snake demon mask
- A baby African elephant, the first to be displayed in Europe
- An Enigma machine, the famous de-coding machine used during the Second World War.
- A 19th century headdress decorated with kingfisher feathers
- A silver travelling service used by Napoleon’s sister, Princess Pauline Borghese
- A sample of the oldest rock on earth.
Curator Rose Watban says:
This is our chance to celebrate the highlights of our collections, uncover amazing stories, highlight their beauty in a new context and really bring alive how vibrant and unusual they are. Where else could you expect to see a two-toed sloth and a Martian meteorite in the same exhibition?
National Museums Scotland is undertaking a £46.4m redevelopment of the Victorian Royal Museum building, part of its flagship site the National Museum of Scotland, Chambers Street, Edinburgh. Over half of the National Museum of Scotland will remain open throughout the Project and the full building is set to re-open in 2011. The project is jointly funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund (£17.8 million), and the Scottish Government (£16 million), with a further £12.6 million from fundraising.
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