600 Years in the Making: Highlights from the Museum Collections of the University of St Andrews

By Helen Rawson

This guidebook presents stunning highlights from the treasures of the University of St Andrews collection, revealing objects from around the world and from ancient times to the present day. Featuring specially commissioned photography and articles on each object by the museum's co-director, this book brings the stories of these fascinating objects to a wider audience for the first time.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
• Release date: Jun 16, 2016
• ISBN: 9781784421625

Book preview

Contents

Foreword

Discovering the Museum Collections

History and Development of the Museum Collections

Seal of Authority

Examination and Celebration

The Thistle and the Rose

Drinking Together

Seat of Power

Observing the Skies

Sporting Glory

Murder and Intrigue

From a New World

Seeing Further

Power and Ceremony

Forbidden Pleasures

Gods and Goddesses

Fossilised Fishes

Disrupting Times

Model of Practice

Pioneering Women

Evolutionary Theory

Flights of Fancy

Tibetan Traditions

Elements of Chemistry

Fine Apparel

Recording Scotland

Cypriot Connections

Contemporary Collecting

Mary Queen of Scots at Fotheringhay by John Duncan, 1929

Foreword

Founded between 1410 and 1414, the University of St Andrews is the oldest university in Scotland, and the third most ancient in the English-speaking world (after Oxford and Cambridge). The Museum Collections of the University of St Andrews consist of about 115,000 artefacts and specimens acquired throughout its 600-year history. This short guidebook highlights items which, while interesting, celebrated or significant in their own right, reflect the richness and diversity of the wider collections.

Some items now in the museum collections are connected to the history and traditions of the University. The magnificent medieval maces have been used in ceremonies since the 15th century, as they still are at graduation and other events today. They provide a direct connection to the experiences of past generations of students and staff: an unbroken link from the University’s earliest days to the present time. Furniture, such as the elaborate St Andrews Cupboard from the early 1500s, medieval carved stones, portraits and stained glass have also passed down through the centuries. Academic dress, silver drinking vessels and relics of sports and pastimes contained within the Heritage Collection offer insights into the changing life of the University and its colleges over the past 600 years.

Other items were originally acquired for teaching and research purposes. These include intricate scientific instruments, of which the earliest were probably purchased by James Gregory, Professor of Mathematics, in his attempt to establish the first purpose-built observatory in the British Isles in St Andrews in the early 1670s. Today the Collection of Historic Scientific Instruments contains over 1000 items reflecting five centuries of scientific breakthroughs and discoveries: when new, many represented cutting-edge technology. The Chemistry Collection ranges from rare and fragile examples of early glassware to specimens such as the remarkable samples of around 900 sugars, the structures of which were identified by Professors Purdie and Irvine in the 20th century. Like the Heritage Collection, the Chemistry and Historic Scientific Instrument Collections are Recognised Collections of National Significance, indicating their importance to Scottish history, life and culture, as well as their international renown.

Ethnographic and archaeological artefacts, some of which were once displayed amid a collection of ‘curiosities’ shown to visitors to the University Library in the 18th century, offer insights into human history and cultures, both within Scotland and around the globe. Zoological and geological specimens enable exploration and understanding of the natural world, while the Anatomy and Pathology Collection represents developments in medicine and human health.

The art holdings, including the strong collection of contemporary Scottish art, represent the creative impulses also present in many other fields, including the sciences. Diverse, beautiful, startling or fascinating, the varied and still developing museum collections reflect not only the history of the University of St Andrews, and the discoveries made by its staff and students, but its interaction with and influence in the wider world.

I hope that this brief guidebook will intrigue and inspire you, and encourage you to explore the museum collections further.

Dr Helen C. Rawson

Co-Director, Museum Collections Unit

February 2016