An extraordinary 3,000-year-old sun pendant is to go on show in Scotland for the first time later this month.
Museum & Tasglann nan Eilean, Stornoway will host this prestigious British Museum Spotlight loans tour Gathering light: A Bronze Age golden sun exhibition.
The stunning piece, known as a gold bulla, is one of the most significant items of Bronze Age metalwork ever discovered in Britain and was found by a metal detectorist in the Shropshire Marches in May 2018.
The exhibition will be at Museum & Tasglann nan Eilean, Stornoway from Saturday 10 June to Saturday, 16 September 2023, and will also include other Bronze Age gold artefacts, including a gold lunula (amulet) discovered in an Irish bog and a hoard of Cornish torcs and rings.
Also on display will be a gold ring from the archaeological excavations at Cladh Hallan, South Uist and local Bronze Age finds from the collections of Museum & Tasglann nan Eilean.
Neil Wilkin, Curator, Early Europe at the British Museum said:
“The Shropshire sun pendant is an internationally significant object, reflecting the artistic brilliance of communities from the deep past and the social and religious connections that spanned western Europe.”
Caitriona MacCuish, Museum Development Officer at Museum & Tasglann nan Eilean, added:
“We are delighted to host this British Museum spotlight loan giving local people and visitors the opportunity to see these internationally significant objects.
“Museum & Tasglann nan EIlean are proud to display fascinating objects found in the Outer Hebrides, which tell their own captivating stories, alongside such a spectacular artefact as the Shropshire sun pendant.”
For more information visit www.outerhebridesheritage.org.uk
Gathering light is generously supported by the Dorset Foundation, in memory of Harry M Weinrebe.
