The National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh is an amazing place. According to the Museum:
“Our diverse collections will take you on a journey of discovery through the history of Scotland and around the world, taking in the wonders of nature, art, design and fashion and science and technology—all under one roof.”
The journey through the Museum’s many galleries often begins in the Grand Gallery, often described as one of Scotland’s most beautiful spaces. The Grand Gallery is a light-filled atrium with soaring pillars and high windows.
Shown above is the ceiling and balconies of the older part of the museum which was constructed in the mid-nineteenth-century.
From the main gallery, there are also several side galleries, each filled with amazing displays.
Shown above is the World Cultures Gallery looking up from the middle balcony.
Shown above is a cast iron drinking fountain made in the 1880s by the Glasgow firm Walter Macfarlane and Co. At this time the firm was Scotland’s most important manufacturer of ornamental ironwork.
Shown above is an 1860 Columbian Printing Press. The press was designed in 1813 by George Clymer, an American. The press was not popular in America, so he brought his design to Britain where it became popular.
According to the display:
“The press was named after Columbia, the female personification of America and has a large counterweight in the shape of an American eagle. To demonstrate the links with newspaper production, it is decorated with dolphins which represent wisdom and the rod of Mercury, the messenger of the Greek Gods.”
Shown above is a feast bowl from Atiu, one of the Cook Islands in the Pacific. This bowl, which holds up to 300 gallons, would have been used to serve food at communal feasts.
According to the display:
“These were an important part of traditional Cook Islands culture, being both a way of praising the gods and seeking their blessings.”
Shown above is the SAL Bulldog. Scottish Aviation Limited (SAL) was founded in Prestwick in 1935 by Squadron Leader Douglas Douglas-Hamilton, Marquis of Clydesdale and future 14th Duke of Hamilton, and Flight Lieutenant David McIntrye.
The New Wing
The Museum is in the process of expanding so that it can add several more galleries.
The architecture of the new wing (shown above) is also spectacular.
