Browse Items (491 total)

This painting of skies near Mallaig was gifted to the West Highland Museum by the artist’s widow Magda Salvesen in1994. Jon Schueler (1916–1992) was regarded as a member of the New York Abstract Expressionist school of art. He first visited Scotland…

This very large oil painting by Henry Tanworth Wells (1828–1903) hangs at Arisaig House. It was a wedding gift to Gertrude Astley from her sisters when she married in 1883. It was painted specifically for Arisaig House. The painting was bequested to…

This portrait titled “Mrs Ryan” has been selected because the sitter and artist have close links to Lochaber. Keith Henderson (1883–1982) was a Scottish painter who worked in both oils and watercolours. He had a long professional career and served as…

“October in Knoydart”, is an oil on canvas signed by the artist. It depicts Lochaber’s wild mountainous scenery and was selected for the gallery because of the artist’s special relationship with the West Highland Museum. It was painted by Sir…

This local Lochaber scene depicts women waulking cloth on the shores of Loch Nan Uamh. Six women are seated in a rough circle wielding short mallets and evidently singing, while another group observe them. People waulked the cloth they had woven.…

This was championship belt was won by strong man Alexander Anthony Cameron (1877–1951). He was one of the all-time great strongmen and athletes from Dochanassie in Lochaber. He was sometimes known as the Mighty Mucomir and was the greatest heavy of…

In 1929 the Lochaber aluminium smelter opened in Fort William. The British Aluminium Company had developed an area of 303 square miles around Ben Nevis where there is an average rainfall of 406 cm per year. This was ideal for the hydro-electric…

This gorgeous dress was made in India, but has connections with the Highlands. It belonged to Barbara Morrison, who had been born in Inverness. She married a William FitzHenry in Jersey in December 1856, a Colour Sergeant with the 60th Regiment of…

This Ben Nevis race medal was won by Lucy Cameron. She won the women’s race in 1902 in the record time of 2 hours and 3 minutes. The first competitive Ben Nevis race was held in 1898. Up until the turn of the century women were banned from the race,…

This heavy dirk with a backed blade is made from steel with a wooden hilt decorated with a Celtic knotwork design and brass pins. The dirk is important to the collection because of its connection to Big Duncan Cameron, known in Gaelic as Donnchadh…

The birching table is from the old court house in Fort William where the birchings were carried out. It was last used in 1948, when a 15-year-old boy was birched for shoplifting". It is easy to forget in the present day how recent it was that…

Blog by Madga Salvesen, Curator Jon Schueler Estate

This object has been included in the gallery because its purpose is a bit of a mystery. It is believed to be a type of wooden quern made from bog oak. It was found in the Crinan peat bog and is a much sturdier specimen than it would appear. Querns…

This beaker was found in a cist in a gravel knoll above the Nether Lochaber Hotel, Corran near Fort William in February 1889. It is very special as it dates to the Beaker period, around 4,000 years ago. The beaker was immersed in water when first…

This prehistoric sword would have been a lethal tool of combat. It is a Bronze Age sword and one of the earliest examples of craftmanship in metal by mankind. It was found at Lochdar, South Uist in 1865. Bronze Age swords appeared from around the…

This is one of the oldest medals in competitive shinty. Shinty, or camanachd as it is traditionally known in the Gaelic-speaking West Highlands, is an ancient game. Introduced to Scotland along with Christianity and the Gaelic language nearly two…

These decorated silver ceremonial spades were used to cut the first sods of local railway lines in the late 19th century. The first spade was used to cut the first sod of the West Highland Line, the 160-mile track from Glasgow to Mallaig. The turf…

Charms were an integral part of Highland culture for centuries. There are a good variety of charms in the museum, covering everything from preventing nightmares, encouraging rain, and warding away evil spirits. Many were collected by the Victorian…

This is a beautiful example of a 19th century child’s tartan dress. The full skirt with flared sleeves is hand stitched. The tartan sett is Murray Mansfield (a variation of the Murray of Atholl) tartan with trimming of red Murray of Tullibardine…

This is a typical example of a 19th century Highland outfit made for a child. It comprises of a kilt, jacket, sash, sporran, and Glengarry. It belonged to Donald McNaughton (1854 - 1937) and he wore it when he was about 5 years old in living on the…

This is an example of Chinese export porcelain designed to Western taste. This is armorial ware or heraldic china where the ceramic is decorated with a coat of arms. It was very popular among the clan chiefs in the 18th century who ordered their…

This 18th century banner contains the Coat of Arms of MacDonald of Moidart. By tradition this is Clanranald’s Banner which was raised beside the Standard of Prince Charles Edward Stuart at Glenfinnan and was on the battlefield at Culloden. Although,…

This is a coffin guard or mort safe and is designed to prevent body snatchers stealing the corpse of someone who has recently died. In the early 18th century medical schools in Scotland started to use dissection methods to teach the medical…

This tiny silver water cruet was found by chance in a local river. It was used by a priest to officiate at communion. It is engraved with the letter “A” for aqua. A corresponding cruet for wine would be engraved with a “V”. It was found in the burn…

Bronze age beaker

Metal knife blade with no handle. Although the knife is poorly constructed and rusting its important because it was purportedly found on Drumossie Moor near Inverness. This was the site of the Battle of Culloden, the last engagement of the 1745…

A prayer book titled “A Manual for A Christian”. The prayer book was rebound in the 19th century when the inner and outer case were added. Sadly, no publication information survived this process. The book was gifted to the museum in 2018. It is…

Stretcher invented by Donald Duff (1893-1968) and used by Lochaber Mountain Rescue team (LMRT) whose patch includes Ben Nevis. Duff was a doctor, pioneer of Scottish mountain rescue, inventor, author, and the leader of LMRT in the late 1940s and…

These postcards are part of a much larger collection sent by John McCallum to his wife Mary from France during the Great War. They married in Ballachulish in April 1916, but six months later John was shipped off to fight on the Western Front. He…

A framed fragment of cloth decorated with brown sprigged stripes on a cream background. It is mounted on a glazed wooden and silver frame. The piece is said to have been from a dress worn by Flora MacDonald (1722 -1790), heroine of the 1745 Rising.…

“Little Office of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary” prayer book. Originally bound in plain card it has decorated with an intricate design of woven coloured straw. Published by Joachim Carlier at St Omer Audomari in 1672, the…

A pair of decorative 18th century shoe buckles with paste 'jewels'. Said to have been worn by Flora MacDonald (1722 -1790). Flora was a heroine of the 1745 Jacobite Rising. After two months on the run, Prince Charles Edward Stuart arrived at the…

Bone china fluted handle less tea cup and deep saucer said to have been part of a set that belonged to Flora MacDonald (1722 -1790).

Small cannonball from Fort William. Located in the West Highland Museum in Fort William.

When land around the old fort was excavated to make way for the first rail line into Fort William in the 1890s, knives, cannon, and bullet moulds were found in the old fort. This cannon ball was found in the old Fort and is marked with a Government…

Large metal lock from Fort William.

This Victorian post horn is made from a cow horn and has a metal mouthpiece decorated with a caberfeidh (stag's head) and shield. It is on a shoulder string. It is said to have been used on the Fort William mail coach. The powerful noise of a horn…

This iconic 1st pattern F-S Fighting Knife was designed by William Fairbairn and Eric Sykes in 1940. The duo trained special forces including the SOE and commandos here in Lochaber during the Second World War. Wilkinson Sword manufactured the…

glenfinnan stone 3d model

This pair of late Bronze Age gold pennular armlets were found at Kilmallie, just outside Fort William. The fascinating story behind them relates to their discovery. In 1871 a crofter had a dream that he would find treasure if he dug at a certain…

This fine taxidermy specimen of a golden eagle came to the museum in 1940. There is no record as to when it was prepared, but our records show that the eagle was captured in a trap in Glencoe. By today’s standards this specimen was obtained…

A good luck charm made for Colonel John Cameron of Fassiefern (1771 – 1815). It is made from tartan silk and contains a pebble, pieces of stalk, speedwell seeds sewn in, with a tiny padlock and a letter. The letter reads "Col. Cameron, 92 Regt.…

This is a rim and shoulder of a late Bronze Age hanging bowl that has been spun from a single piece of bronze. There is one escutcheon with a ring that would have been used for suspending the bowl. Hanging bowls are a bit of a mystery because their…

This hard-tartan dress was handmade on the Scottish island of Benbecula in the early half of 19th century. It shows signs of wear, tear and repair, indicating that it would have been worn by a working woman. It was collected by the pioneering…

A circular box with an enamel tartan decoration. The hinged cover opens to expose a plain interior. However, the hidden double lid opens to reveal a finely enamelled portrait of Prince Charles Edward Stuart (1720 - 1788) dressed in a tartan jacket…

A paper and ivory fan depicting Prince Charles Edward Stuart (1720 - 1788) with the Mars, Roman god of war, and Bellona, Roman goddess of war. They are surrounded by other classical gods. The figures to the right are reputed to be the family of the…

This blackthorn walking stick belonged to the famous Scottish Gaelic bard Iain Lom MacDonald (1624 – 1710). He carried it by him after the Battle of Inverlochy in February 1645. He lost his sword during the battle, but managed to fight his way home…