The 'Museum of Scotland',
Edinburgh,
Scotland, is a building which, together with the adjacent
Royal Museum, comprises the
National Museum of Scotland. It is dedicated to the
history,
people and
culture of Scotland. The museum is on
Chambers Street, in central Edinburgh. It is part of the
National Museums of Scotland. Admission is free.
Opened in
1998, incorporating collections from the 'National Museum of Antiquities of Scotland' and Scottish items from the Royal Museum, the museum possesses a distinctive look.
Collections
Notable artefacts include:
★ Sculptures by Sir
Eduardo Paolozzi, housing prehistoric
jewellery
★ The
Monymusk Reliquary
★ 10 of the
Lewis chessmen. (The rest are owned by the
British Museum)
★ A
Union Flag and
Scottish Flag raised by the
Hanovarians and
Jacobite respectively at the
Battle of Culloden
★ Paintings by
Margaret MacDonald
★ Sculptures by
Andy Goldsworthy, inspired by the work of Scottish geologist
James Hutton
Architecture
The building's
architecture was controversial from the start, and
Prince Charles resigned as patron of the museum, in protest at the lack of consultation over its design.
[1] Initially conceived as an extension to the adjacent Victorian museum, it eventually came to be a museum in its own right, although the two are linked internally.
The museum is made up of geometric,
Corbusian forms, but also has numerous references to Scotland, such as
brochs and
castellated, defensive, architecture. It is clad in golden
Moray sandstone, which one of its architects, Gordon Benson, has called "the oldest exhibit in the building", a reference to
Scottish geology. The building was a
1999 Stirling Prize nominee.
Images
External links
★
Official website
★
Review of the building by
Hugh Pearman