An antique silver teaspoon was the modest start to Dr Cecil
Gibson’s lifelong passion for collecting Scottish silver. And
although Dr Gibson lived in England for much of his life, he was
eager that his vast silver collection be used for the benefit of
his native Scotland after his death.
Rather than donating individual pieces, he instructed his
executors to sell his collection and arrange for the proceeds to be
given to National Museums Scotland. We have been honoured to use
his legacy to purchase important examples of silver in keeping with
our existing collection. And we were delighted to accept Dr
Gibson’s only condition – that his gift be known as the ‘Cecil and
Mary Gibson Bequest, as a proper celebration of an exceptionally
happy marriage’.
One of the fine examples purchased with the proceeds of Dr
Gibson’s generous bequest is a pair of wall sconces crafted by
James Penman in Edinburgh between 1698 and 1699. Known as the
Hopetoun Sconces, these are by far Penman’s most exuberantly
decorated works and are extremely important pieces, as
comparatively little of this master craftsman’s output has
survived. They were showcased in the Silver
Made in Scotland exhibition in 2008 and are now on permanent
display in the National Museum of Scotland.