Great news!
We’re extremely pleased to announce that National Museums Scotland’s partnership with The Glenmorangie Company, which supports research into a formative period of Scotland’s past, will continue for a further three years.
The project is undertaking new research on Scotland during the Early Historic period, roughly AD 300–900. This period comes immediately before the first entity known as ‘Scotland’, and far from being a Dark Age these centuries were a vibrant time in Scotland’s past.
In a challenging economic climate, and with many cultural and public institutions facing funding uncertainty, this long-term support is a fantastic boost. The partnership is regarded as a model for how business can support culture and last year we won a coveted Arts and Business Scotland Award in recognition of our work together. Last week we beat stiff competition to win a prestigious national Hollis Sponsorship Award.
At the moment we’re busy finishing a major new book on the period, due to be published later this year. Building up to writing this book, we’ve been researching some of the most stunning objects in National Museums’ archaeology collections. These include the fascinating massive solid silver chains – the one pictured here weighs nearly two kilograms!
An important part of the project so far has been commissioning contemporary artists to make ‘recreations’ of Early Historic objects that have not survived the tests of time. These included our wooden Pictish throne, shown here on display in the Scottish parliament building.
Over the next three years we’re going to continue this exciting programme of modern recreations, so watch out for future blogs and watch the past come to life at our new web pages.
Cheers or sláinte!
