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Painting showing an older man with a fur hat and large beard surrounded by three younger people. there is an open book in the foreground.
4 Sept 2020

Best of the beards

In celebration of World Beard Day on Saturday 5 September, we share some of the best bristles from across our collections.

An oil portrait of a young 17th-century woman seated in front of a classical background. She looks directly at the viewer. She has ringlets in her hair, held back by a wide headband with pearls. She also wears a pearl necklace and earrings. Her blue and white silk dress is voluminous and is pinned in various places with pearl brooches.
3 Sept 2020

Anne, 3rd Duchess of Hamilton (1631–1716)

Join Regional Curator Sarah Beattie over the next few months as she looks at the lives of some of the Hamilton family and explores the impact they had on the building, collections and interiors at Brodick Castle.

An old wooden shelf has a variety of old-fashioned cleaning products arranged upon it. These include old bars of soap, a metal tin of mothicide, a metal canister of Brasso, two old glass bottles and a cardboard box of Rinso.
2 Sept 2020

Vintage cleaning hacks from the Tenement House

The Tenement House archive in Glasgow holds some great advice to help you keep your home spick and span!

An old oil painting of Culzean Castle on the cliff top, seen from the sea. A group of white sailed boats are in the foreground. The sky is large, pale blue with clouds in the distance.
1 Sept 2020

Throwing new light on difficult histories

Our collections contain a considerable number of controversial objects which we can use to reveal the complexities of our heritage and culture.

Close-up of small piles of colourful spices, including cinnamon sticks, turmeric and star anise.
31 Aug 2020

A Gladstone’s Land plague remedy

Gladstone’s Land sold all the ingredients to ‘cure’ 17th-century Edinburgh residents of the plague.

A black and white photo of four people looking for shells on a sandy beach. Three sit or crouch on the beach, running their hands through the sand. The fourth woman stands and leans over the man closest to the foreground.
28 Aug 2020

Why do we collect shells?

As British summertime ends, we’re beachcombing our collections for shells, to illustrate how a humble home for a sea creature has become a symbol of luxury and power in art and design.

A silver box in the shape of a pug’s head. It has orange eyes and a gilt base.
25 Aug 2020

25 of the very best dogs in our collections!

In celebration of National Dog Day, we thought it would be fun to share some examples of our canine friends from across the years ... and in various guises.

A black and white photograph of a small dog standing on a wooden raft, floating in a still bay. The dog is looking at the camera. Cliffs and rocky beaches can be seen in the background.
25 Aug 2020

It’s a dog’s life – Canna’s Cairns and other canines

To celebrate National Dog Day on 26 August, we take a look at some of the canine companions of the Canna House Collections.

A black and white cabinet card of a woman standing in an interior. She stands in profile facing to the left. She has long dark hair which she wears pinned back, and wears a dark velvet dress with light and dark embellishments. There is a large leather book on a chair to the left. The woman holds it open with her left hand, and holds a pale handkerchief up in her right.
19 Aug 2020

Collections Diaries – Part I: Photographs of a Hidden Empire

As the Collections Team return to work, we’re sharing stories that give a behind-the-scenes look at their current projects to preserve Scotland’s history.