The UK’s largest exhibition of amber will go on display at the National Museum of Scotland on Chambers Street, Edinburgh on 10 May.
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- Baltic Amber Bracelet © National Museums Scotland
Amazing Amber will contain over 320 objects, 75% of which have never previously been shown. Amber is fossilised tree resin and the exhibition will explore how this fascinating material was formed, how it has been used in history and how it is studied by scientists to shed new light on the earth’s ancient past.
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- Amber Pendant with cricket and spider inclusions, mounted in gold and platinum, with diamonds. © The Natural History Museum, London
Amazing Amber coincides with the 20th anniversary of the release of the blockbuster film Jurassic Park that featured a mosquito trapped in amber from which dinosaur DNA was supposed to have been taken. The film fired the public imagination and triggered a new wave of scientific research on amber. In recognition of the anniversary, the exhibition will display the cane, with its replica mosquito in amber, that was used by Lord Richard Attenborough in Jurassic Park: The Lost World.
Amber was highly prized by our ancestors and examples on display within the exhibition originate from over 15 different countries including Myanmar (Burma), Mexico, the Dominican Republic and the Baltic States. Objects range from ancient and contemporary jewellery and religious and decorative items to 130 fascinating inclusions created when sticky tree resin captured insects and other organic material resulting in a natural time capsule containing life forms dating back millions of years. Inclusions on show include flies, beetles, bugs and spider’s webs as well as a 100 million year-old biting midge that dates from the time of the dinosaurs.
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- Ring of natural and heat-treated amber – winner of a Design Award at the Amberif International Fair in Gdansk in 2012 © National Museums Scotland
Stunning contemporary amber jewellery will be displayed alongside beautifully-crafted, ancient Scottish pieces dating back thousands of years including the West Ness brooch. Other highlights include beautiful 17th century Italian altarpieces, the world’s largest piece of Burmese amber and examples of carved Chinese and Mexican amber, as well as amber-handled cutlery reputedly used by Sir Walter Scott. Amazing Amber also features ancient examples of amber used in folklore to ward off evil spirits, cure blindness and purify water.
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- Art Nouveau Hair Ornament c 1890-1895 © National Museums Scotland
Amazing Amber is made up of objects from the National Museums Scotland collections as well as loans from museums and private collectors including the Natural History Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum, Sir Walter Scott’s Abbotsford home, Universal Studios and the private collection of Sir David Attenborough.
