TIME is running out to see a sliver casket believed to have belonged to Mary, Queen of Scots in Kirkcubbright.
The historic item is part of a display telling the story of Mary during her early life in France and Scotland when she is believed to have possessed the casket. The exhibition at the Kirkcudbright Galleries will come to an end on Sunday 27 April.
Made in Paris, between 1493 and 1510, the casket is an extremely rare work of early French silver.
It is thought it was given to Mary by her first husband, Franois II of France, and came to Scotland with her in 1561 after his death. Her inventories from this time list multiple examples of precious jewellery and other such valuable objects.
It is believed that this is the casket which played a dramatic role in Marys downfall when, in December 1568, a similar casket was produced at a hearing ordered by Elizabeth I against Mary at Westminster.
This contained what have become known as the Casket Letters: love poems and letters, allegedly from Mary to her third husband, the Earl of Bothwell, implicated them both in a conspiracy to murder her second husband, Lord Darnley.
Dr Anna Groundwater, principal curator of Renaissance and Early Modern History at National Museums Scotland says its one of Scotlands national treasures, adding: ” This extraordinary casket has been venerated as a relic of Mary, Queen of Scots for centuries, and Im delighted that visitors to Kirkcudbright Galleries have the opportunity to see it up close.
“Beyond its connections to one of Scotlands most famous figures, it is a rare and spectacular piece of historic silver in its own right.”
