Browse Items (491 total)

These are two silver Spanish pieces of eight found in Tobermory Bay off the Isle of Mull. The coins made an unusual journey to arrive in the West Highlands. In July 1588 the Spanish launched their armada of 130 ships with the intention of invading…

This spinning wheel used for spinning thread or yarn from fibres was made in the French pattern, and was gifted to the West Highland Museum along with spindles, whorls, and a bobbin. The objects are exceptional because of they are said to have once…

By the late 1890s a unique system of mail dispatch had developed on the remote Scottish archipelago of St Kilda. Letters were enclosed in a waterproof receptacle, usually a sheep’s bladder, attached to a homemade buoy, and launched into the sea in…

This leather-bound stalker’s telescope has been selected because of its association with the Highlands. It is a typical example of equipment ghillies would use when deer stalking in the hills around the area. This telescope is particularly special as…

These images were created as part of the Highland Threads digital exhibition - an online collection curated from fourteen Highland museum collections which tell the stories of their best costumes. you can visit the full exhibition here -…

This Neolithic stone axe was found at Keppoch near Roy Bridge in 1876. It came into the museum’s collection in 1936. Axes were adapted for many uses and vary in size and shape. The axe has been ground and polished, a new technique introduced during…

Stone axe 3D model

A hard tartan jacket made in Uist. With linen lined sleeves. The colourful tartan lining differs between the skirts and bodice. It is a fantastic example of 18th century textile design. It is said to have been worn at the Battle of Culloden in 1746.…

This gun by tradition is the Appin murder weapon. The Appin murder took place on 14 May 1752 in the aftermath of the 1745 Jacobite Rising. It is an infamous and unsolved murder, and the story became the inspiration for Robert Louis Stevenson's novel…

This decorative dirk is part of a Highland outfit. In addition to the blade there is small knife and fork that fit neatly into the leather scabbard. The handles are carved from wood and decorated with metal studs. The dirk belonged to the Earl of…

This object is a bit of a mystery. Known as the Clanranald Anvil, it probably dates back to the 14th or 15th century. It is a very heavy irregular lump of iron, and could also be called a swaging block, for the precise shaping of sheet metal by an…

Said to have been made more than 800 years ago, the Faery bagpipes of Kinlochmoidart, are very special as they are thought to be one of the oldest set of pipes in existence and the first with two holes, adding an extra sounding hole at the end of the…

A large round boulder with a hole bored partially through it. This is a stone with an iconic history. It was originally from Glenfinnan and by tradition is thought to have been used to support the Standard of Prince Charles Edward Stuart when it was…

This is the largest object in the West Highland Museum collection and maybe one of the most intriguing. It came from the old fort (An Gearasdan) at Fort William and dates back to 1690. This was a strategic strong hold at the southern end of the…

This basket hilted broadsword dates from either the late 17th or early 18th century. Basket-hilts were swords with a basket-shaped guard to protect the hand, and were common throughout Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries. The most famous of this…

Prince Charles Edward Stuart's (1720 - 1788) death mask. Thought to be a copy of an original made by Barnar dina Lucchesi, one of a family of modellers in Rome. brought this mask to Scotland in 1839. The mask had been handed down through his family.…

A tooth mounted in a hand-carved ivory frame. The tooth is said to have belonged to Prince Charles Edward Stuart (1720 - 1788). It is very rare and thought to be the only known example of a tooth from the Prince in any museum collection. The tooth is…

An anamorphic hidden painting of Prince Charles Edward Stuart (1720 - 1788). At first glance the object appears to be a smear of oil paints on a black wooden board, but when paired with a mirrored cylinder, the true nature of this unique object is…

Blog looking at the history of the mort safe

A copper printing plate commissioned by Prince Charles Edward Stuart (1720 - 1788) in 1746. Designed and etched by the artist Robert Strange (1721 -1792), the plate is completely unique and was intended to be used to print bank notes during the…

Print made by the prominent Scottish artist and etcher Sir D Y Cameron (1865 -1945). In 1928 The Strange Plate came into the museum’s collection, a copper plate made in 1746 and intended to print bank notes for the Jacobite cause. Cameron, was…

This unimposing curved stool made from a tree root has a fascinating history. A label attached to the object states “Stool on which Prince Charlie sat when in hiding in Uist after Culloden.” It was given to the pioneering Victorian folklorist…

3D model of tree root stool

A two-sided chair with an embroidered velvet seat said to have been used by Prince Charles Edward Stuart (1720 - 1788). The embroidered inscription reads “August 23 1745 Prince Charles Edward stayed the first night of his march to Inverness with John…

Two pairs of pistols that belonged to Lochaber man Major James MacFarlane (1774 - 1849) who worked in India with the Honourable East India Company. The first pair are percussion pistols with octagonal barrels, a ramrod, and a belt hook, and were…

This blackthorn walking stick is special for its association with the 1745 Rising. Soon after Prince Charles Edward Stuart (1720 - 1788) first arrived on the Scottish mainland he stayed at Kinlochmoidart House before he proceeded to Glenfinnan where…

A catalogue for the 1925 West Highland Museum’s exhibition titled “Prince Charles Edward and the ’45 Campaign”. The West Highland Museum was founded in 1922 by a group of local history enthusiasts under the guidance of museum founder, Victor Hodgson.…

This glass bottle contains a fine whisky said to be almost 200 years old. The faded label reads "from Jas. Young, Family Grocer, Wine & Spirit Merchant, High St. Fort William". James Young died in 1894. The whisky was gifted to the museum by Young’s…

This pot still has a mysterious history. It was found abandoned anonymously on the steps of the museum in the 1920s. The damage was caused by some over-zealous excisemen determined that the still would not be used again. There was a long tradition…

These images were created as part of the Highland Threads digital exhibition - an online collection curated from fourteen Highland museum collections which tell the stories of their best costumes. you can visit the full exhibition here -…

Small wooden bowl possibly for soup of porridge. It was found in the Governor's House at Fort William when the fort was demolished in 1938.

wooden bowl from Governor's House.