An elaborate gold locket with pearls around one of its edges. It is open to reveal a portrait of a woman and of a boy.
Scottish History & Archaeology

Renaissance and Early Modern History

Our Renaissance and Early Modern collections contain objects relating to Scottish history from c.1450-1750.

This period encompasses the cultural developments of the Scottish Renaissance, the Protestant Reformation, and the seismic events of the Union of the Crowns, the Covenanting Revolution, the Anglo-Scottish Union of 1707 and the Jacobite Rebellions of 1715 and 1745.

Collections include decorative arts, jewellery, metalwork, furniture and weaponry, and objects relating to monarchical power, religion, trade and everyday life. Many of our objects were made in Scotland, but others were not, material evidence of the connections between Scotland, Europe and further afield.

Most notable are iconic pieces related to Mary, Queen of Scots, the Stewart kings, the Darien Venture, and the Jacobites. Star items include the Penicuik Jewels associated with Mary, a sword, targe and travelling canteen belonging to Prince Charles Edward Stuart, the awe-inspiring execution device, the Maiden, and the Company of Scotland’s large iron-bound chest related to the Darien Venture, the financially disastrous colonial scheme.

Meet the team

Renaissance and Early Modern History stories

  1. A black oval shaped tortoiseshell oval box with white ridge set against the black background. A white portrait of a woman wearing a curly shoulder length wig, dressed in a white jacket with golden brooch.
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    Flora MacDonald: An unlikely Jacobite heroine

    Flora MacDonald famously helped Charles Edward Stuart escape Scotland after the 1745 rising was crushed. A silver snuffbox, a treasured heirloom of her clan, links the romantic pair. 
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  2. A book illustration of a man with curly hair and a beard looking upwards, wearing a beret, an armour breast and a coat over it.
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    Who was Rob Roy MacGregor?

    Born in Glengyle in 1671, Robert McGregor would became famous as an outlaw, known as the 'Scottish Robin Hood'. McGregor's nickname ‘Rob Roy’ comes from Ruadh, which means red in Gaelic – a reference to his fiery red hair. Rob Roy the…
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  3. A round leather shield, embossed with decorated with pattern and small brass pegs throughout. The middle of the shield is decorated with a large brass peg.
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    A hurried escape: Items abandoned by Bonnie Prince Charlie as he fled Culloden

    After the Jacobites were defeated at the Battle of Culloden, Charles Edward Stuart fled in haste - and left a number of personal objects behind, which are now held in the National Collection. 
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