Highlight Loan: Silver Casket believed to have belonged to Mary, Queen of Scots

Highlight Loan: Silver Casket believed to have belonged to Mary, Queen of Scots

2 November 2024 – 27 April 2025, Mitchell Gallery

Supported by the Weston Loan Programme with Art Fund and The National Museums Scotland.

Mary inherited the throne of Scotland when she was just six days old, but was sent to be raised in the French court of which she was also destined to be queen, this time through her marriage to the Dauphin. After the early death of her husband this vivacious, cultured and fashionable young woman travelled back to Scotland bringing this letter casket with her to take up her new life among her people.

An iconic piece of Scotland’s national heritage the silver casket was acquired by National Museums Scotland in 2022 has undergone fresh conservation work ahead of going on tour to Kirkcudbright and Stirling.   

Made in Paris, probably between 1493 and 1510, the casket is a superb and extremely rare work of early French silver, very little of which survives, even in France. It is likely that its long-standing association with Mary has kept it preserved for over 450 years.

To prepare the casket for the tour, centuries of tarnish and corrosion have been removed. The technique of electrolytic reduction was used via a pen-like device, allowing the delicate gold and silver surfaces to be cleaned in a highly controlled and targeted manner without the need for any abrasive polishing. See the video below.

Photograph of the Casket and Video © National Museums Scotland.
Photograph of Conservator Diana de Bellaigue, removes tarnish from the Mary Queen of Scots casket. Copyright ©Duncan McGlynn