THE exhibition features more than 300 objects, drawn from the collections of National Museums Scotland and 38 lenders across the UK. Here’s some highlights:
The oldest known chanter
Though pipes were said to have been carried at Bannockburn in 1314, the oldest known Scottish chanter dates from the lifetime of Iain Dall Mackay (1656-1754), a piper and composer from Skye. Though they are now usually made from synthetic materials, Mackay’s is fashioned from lignum vitae, thought to be the hardest wood in the world.
Copper plate of the execution of Lord Lovat
Clan chief Simon Fraser switched sides between the Jacobites and the Government throughout his life. Having fought for Charles at Culloden, he was beheaded aged in 1747. The crowds gathered at London’s Tower Hill were handed bills printed with this unflattering etching of him by William Hogarth.
Gaelic banner of the 2/84th Regiment
Though the failure of the Jacobite rising damaged Gaelic, the language was used on the pipe banner of the 84th Regiment, often known as the Royal Highland Emigrants.
Based in North America, the regiment was a key part of the British Army in the American War of Independence.
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READ MORE: Scotland's romantic image explored in new exhibition
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First edition volume of Ossian’s poetry
In 1760 Highland schoolmaster and poet James Macpherson published English translations of what he claimed were fragments of poetry by Ossian, a 3rd century Gaelic warrior-bard. Scholars say Ossian was probably of Macpherson’s invention, adapted from Irish legends.
Repeal of the Act of Proscription
The Highland Society of London, composed of influential Highlanders, championed the image of the Highland soldier and successfully campaigned for the repeal of the legal ban on Highland dress in 1782. The Repeal of the Act of Proscription was issued in both English and Gaelic, and the Gaelic version is on show.
Memories and memorabilia from King George IV’s Edinburgh visit
With the Jacobite cause thwarted, Hanoverian Royals championed their own Stuart lineage, most notably with King George IV’s visit to Edinburgh in 1822. On show are costumes, tartans, weaponry and contemporary accounts from the controversial event, stage-managed by Sir Walter Scott.
Queen Victoria’s dress
With Balmoral, Victoria’s beloved retreat, the idealised image of the romantic Highlands endured. On display will be a tartan dress worn by the teenage princess, a brooch she later gave to famed piper John Ban Mackenzie and a mourning pin she had made to commemorate her servant and confidant John Brown.
June 26 to November 10, National Museum of Scotland, Chambers Street, Edinburgh, £10, £7.50 and £8.50 concs. Tel: 0300 123 6789. nms.ac.uk/wildandmajestic #wildandmajestic
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