Missing Paintings from Glasgow's Kelvingrove are Returned

Federico Barocci, 1535-1612, a mannerist painter in Urbino, Italy during the Renaissance, is at the centre of an investigation of art works that were stolen during the 1990's. Three paintings, including a Barocci belonging to the Kelvingrove Art Museum have now been returned to the Glasgow Museums after being missing for nearly ten years.

Officers reopened the investigation into the missing paintings when a senior curator from Kelvingrove noticed 'Wooded Landscape With Figures' by the French artist Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, one of the stolen artworks, in an auction catalogue from auctioneers Lyon and Turnbull.

It seems that after a thorough investigation, Strathclyde Police located the source of the Corot painting and later located the Barocci at the source's home.

The paintings, which had all disappeared in the 90's, were part of a larger, more worrying concern. The Kelvingrove, among other institutions under the Glasgow City Council remit, were found to have unsatisfactory arrangements for recording artefacts and their locations , according to an audit carried out as part of the inquiry. Furthermore, according to the Scottish Herald; it appears that Glasgow City Council had received an anonymous letter, which;

spoke of paintings “being taken by at least one member of staff and sold on the black market” in an operation that has been going on for “at least the past six years”

The Herald reports further;

A Lothian and Borders Police source confirmed yesterday that two paintings had been uncovered but that Strathclyde Police had confirmed it formed part of a “bigger investigation and that there may potentially be more pieces of art that can be uncovered as a result of the inquiries”.

A spokesman for Glasgow Life, the arm’s length agency running civic museums, libraries and leisure centres, said: “We’re very grateful for the work of the police in bringing these paintings home to Glasgow. However, every praise should be reserved for our senior curator whose keen eye illuminated the fact that the stolen Corot was up for auction. Without his wealth of knowledge and expertise, the works may still have been hanging on elsewhere.

“We will continue to work with UK police forces to ensure any stolen item is returned to Glasgow and we are grateful to the galleries who have readily assisted in this matter.”

Details of the alleged thefts from Glasgow Museums were an embarrassment to senior management, which had been in dispute with unions over plans to cut nearly 60 jobs, at the time.

The anonymous letter which triggered the inquiry said: “The ability for staff members not being detected lies in the fact there is apparently no proper documentation of what artefacts are in store and the availability of unlimited access by staff members to storerooms.

“I have heard of at least 10 paintings worth hundreds of thousands of pounds being taken over the past few years. My source of information is from one employee of the council. He has foolishly bragged about his involvement in the pilfering.

“The auditors had said the arrangements for recording artefacts and their locations was unsatisfactory. The arrangement for access to stores are also unsatisfactory and of concern. It is the auditors’ view that the present arrangements leave the collection vulnerable to theft.

“The inquiries confirm that a number of items cannot be accounted for and the full extent of the problem is not known.”

Strathclyde Police said: “We can confirm we are currently investigating and inquiries are ongoing into this matter.”

The three paintings; the afore mentioned landscape by Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, another by Scottish colourist Samuel Peploe and the work by Italian Renaissance artist Federico Barocci, said to be worth around £200,000.00 collectively, are now 'safely' back in the hands of Glasgow City Council.

For further information please see:-
http://www.liverpoolwired.co.uk/news.php/123897-Three-stolen-Glasgow-paintings-have-been-recovered

http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/home-news/exclusive-police-recover-stolen-art-1.1080803

http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/home-news/hundreds-of-items-lost-from-glasgow-museums-1.1083036

http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/home-news/the-84-artworks-missing-from-city-s-galleries-1.1081024

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-12237240

http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2011/jan/20/scottish-police-recover-stolen-paintings?INTCMP=SRCH

National Gallery Exhibition - Italian Altarpieces before 1500

From 6th July to 2nd October 2011 the National Gallery, London will be showing a small exhibition, in its Sainsbury Wing, entitled; Devotion by Design: Italian Altarpieces before 1500.

This free exhibition will explore the Altarpiece in context, using items from the Gallery's own collection, to show the developments of form and style from 1250-1500.

The National gallery website describes the exhibition;

As part of a programme of summer shows focusing on the National Gallery’s collection, ‘Devotion by Design’ explores the function, the original location, and the development of altarpieces in Italy during the late Middle Ages and the early Renaissance.
Altarpieces in context

These objects furnished altars in churches and were not originally intended to hang in a gallery as we see them today. Instead, they were created for a specific sacred context, forming the focus of devotion for worshippers.

Using the Gallery’s own collection, this exhibition investigates the development of altarpieces, looking at changes in form, style and type. It examines not only the evolution of their physical structure but also their relationship to their frames and to the monumental architecture that surrounded them.
The parts of an altarpiece

A small section of ‘Devotion by Design’ will be dedicated to altarpiece fragments, explaining the role different elements of altarpieces played in the overall ensemble. The exhibition examines the reasons why altarpieces came to be dismembered (often with the dissolution of religious institutions in the 18th and 19th centuries) and the methods that art historians now use to reassemble them.

‘Devotion by Design’ showcases altarpieces by well-known artists such as Piero della Francesca, but includes many which are less familiar. It revisits works in the National Gallery Collection in a fresh and innovative light, drawing on the wealth of scholarship undertaken in this field in recent years.

The Altarpiece itself has had a shifting symbolism in the eyes of the art historians, considered to be works of art in their own right and products of artistic genius, or devotional pieces of work intended for one purpose only.

The Altarpiece in the Renaissance - by Peter Humfrey, Italian altarpieces 1250-1550: Function and Design - by Eve Borsook, Fiorella Superbi Gioffredi & The altarpiece in Renaissance Italy - by Jacob Burckhardt are some notable literary works on the Altarpiece, its context and artistic worth, which are good books to look over before you attend the exhibition.

The National Gallery will also produce an Exhibition Catalogue, which is available for pre-order through amazon.co.uk;

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Devotion-Design-Italian-Altarpieces-National/dp/1857095251/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1295332315&sr=1-3

See also:

http://books.google.com/books?id=Mekjfh8R3R8C&pg=PA175&dq=The+Altarpiece+in+the+Renaissance&hl=en&ei=bjM1TaDGDsfl4gb4_oXOCg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CC4Q6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=The%20Altarpiece%20in%20the%20Renaissance&f=false

http://nationalgallery.org.uk/whats-on/exhibitions/devotion-by-design

Rare Medieval Art Works Uncovered & Incomparable at St. Cadoc's, Glamorgan, Wales

The BBC website recently reported that there was something amazing occurring in Wales. According to a Welsh online article (see links below) many rare and amazing paintings dating to 15thC had been uncovered behind the whitewash on the walls of St Cadoc's Church in Llancarfan, Glamorgan.

The BBC reports that;

A painting of St George and the Dragon which is said to be one of the best examples of its kind in the UK and a mural depicting Death and the Gallant - the only one of its kind found in Wales - are just some of the artworks revealed during the restoration of the church.

Funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, the conservation team began work in 2008 after exploratory finds confirmed that the 21 layers of whitewash had indeed been keeping a medieval secret for 460 years.

Ian Fell, who worked on the restoration team said;

“The walls are mind-blowing. They’ve still got quite a way to go but I think it’s beyond compare in Wales.”

Sam Smith, the restoration commitee's chairman said;

“In 2008 when they found that, they said we had probably the best St George and the Dragon that had been found in a church in Britain in a very long time,”

Since finding St George & The Dragon in 2008, the website, www.walesonline.co.uk announced that;

The most recent work has uncovered more of the medieval castle, from where the ginger- bearded king and his distraught queen are watching from the battlements. There’s even someone looking out of a window, that’s very unusual, no-one expected that at all,” Mr Smith said. “When you think these were painted around 1480 and they’re still visible quite clearly it really is quite something.

Early work had also revealed a skeletal head and the face of a man in a woolly Monmouth cap, but the committee had not realised at first they were connected.

Emerging new details show, the pair are part of a depiction of Death and the Gallant, with the skeleton complete with a worm crawling through his rib cage, set to lead the man to purgatory.

“Death and the Gallant is very important because it’s very unusual, very seldom seen, in fact no Death and the Gallant has ever been seen in a church in Wales before,” said Mr Smith.

He said the reason why the church may have had such elaborate artwork painted on its walls was because of its importance in the 15th century.

Within the Vale of Glamorgan and after the Danish invasion, Llancarfan remained

'the most powerful ecclesiastical community in Glamorgan'.

Although it did not survive the Norman invasion, the parish of Llancarfan was a stong one, with a monestary having been founded there since 650AD by St Cadoc

The paintings, designed to educate and enlighten the minds of those parishioners who attended the church in the Middle Ages, had been covered up with whitewash during the Reformation of the Church by Henry VIII, which hid the colourful and detailed depictions of most churches in the country with puritanical white plain walls. It is largely thanks to this cover however, that most of the paintings survived, having been painted straight onto the plaster of the original walls and preserved through the thick layers of reformation.

St Cadoc's website, www.stcadocs.org.uk alludes to the date of the paintings;

The earliest painting of St George survives in Hardham, Sussex - created about 1100. Ours is much later. Clues to the date lie in the Princesses clothes, a design found in the late 1400's. As is George's visible armour. Henry VIII, supported by Protestant scorn, began the 'blotting out' of church images from around 1536. So maybe our paintings were visible for less and a hundred years.

The 800 year old church also houses some other magnificent Medieval treasures. A ploychromed canopy, dated to the 15thC and revealing original colours has been declared as one of the highest quality and 'most important for their date' in Europe.

For further information please go to the following links:

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.hugh-harrison.co.uk/wood_conservation/surveys_consultancy/llancarfan_church1.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.hugh-harrison.co.uk/surveys_and_consultancy.html&usg=__jupArTmUF8b1IP_fuP5G7vquv4U=&h=570&w=760&sz=192&hl=en&start=0&zoom=1&tbnid=5cyKQN5qUhTi8M:&tbnh=132&tbnw=179&ei=J08wTZWfKdC2hAenhY2cCw&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dst%2Bcadoc%2527s%2Bchurch%2Bllancarfan%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26rlz%3D1B3GGGL_enGB315GB315%26biw%3D1152%26bih%3D562%26tbs%3Disch:1&um=1&itbs=1&iact=rc&dur=94&oei=J08wTZWfKdC2hAenhY2cCw&esq=1&page=1&ndsp=15&ved=1t:429,r:1,s:0&tx=80&ty=80

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.churches-uk-ireland.org/images/glam/llancarfan.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.churches-uk-ireland.org/glam.html&usg=__D1JNwaAzhz653Dw3KSHe4AKaH6I=&h=281&w=432&sz=38&hl=en&start=15&zoom=1&tbnid=8TMkcHZEoGkCbM:&tbnh=121&tbnw=171&ei=XFAwTcXVEdfPjAezw4nDCg&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dst%2Bcadoc%27s%2Bchurch%2Bllancarfan%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26rlz%3D1B3GGGL_enGB315GB315%26biw%3D1152%26bih%3D562%26tbs%3Disch:10%2C211&um=1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=481&vpy=290&dur=646&hovh=181&hovw=278&tx=195&ty=142&oei=J08wTZWfKdC2hAenhY2cCw&esq=11&page=2&ndsp=19&ved=1t:429,r:2,s:15&biw=1152&bih=562

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/waleshistory/2010/11/rare_medieval_paintings_st_cadocs_church_cowbridge.html

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/showbiz-and-lifestyle/arts-in-wales/2010/11/29/mind-blowing-medieval-art-is-unveiled-in-church-91466-27733326/

http://www.stcadocs.org.uk/en/treasures.html

The Shakespeare Folio Felony

One of the most audacious and mindless acts of theft and destruction relating to a cultural object i have heard of recently, is a report of the stolen Shakespeare Folio from Durham University.

The Folio, printed in 1623, is the first ever collection of virtually all of Shakespeare's plays and is described by Ian Doyle, the former keeper of rare books at the University of Durham, as 'the most important printed book in English Literature'.

The Folio, which was on display in a reinforced cabinet in the Bishop Cosin's Library at the University, had been stolen in 1998 along with seven other books and manuscripts. Due to the cabinet being under cover for sunlight protection however, the discovery of its abduction was not made until a few days after it is believed Mr Raymond Scott, 53, stole the priceless cultural artefact.

The University of Durham's website states;

Professor Chris Higgins, Vice-Chancellor of Durham University, said: "The loss of the Folio, a national icon, was hugely upsetting for the University community...

"Shakespeare's First Folio is extremely important, not only as a first collection of his works, but also a milestone in the history of English literature.

Mr Scott, who is known as being in Durham at the time of the Folio's disappearance, is linked with the Folio's almost unbelievable theft, after events that occurred during 2008, when he handed the book over to the Folger Library, in Washington DC, for valuation. The staff at the library instantly suspected a theft as it appeared that the book had been defaced. The BBC elaborates;

'Mr Scott "mutilated" the folio, removing both the covers, the frontispiece, final page and binding in an effort to disguise its provenance.'

Mr Scott claims that he found the stolen book at a friends house in Cuba, where he had been residing. The BBC reports Mr Scott went to the Folger Library;

claiming he was the multi-millionaire son of a building contractor...

Robert Smith QC, prosecuting, said: "He presented himself as someone doing a service to the cultural community by bringing the book in to have it identified, but he did not make it clear what he intended to do with the book.

It seems from several reports that Mr Scott had spent some time in Cuba and had become obsessed with a Cuban waitress named Heidy Garcia Rios, who he had planed to share the proceeds of the Folio with, once they had sold it on the open market. Or so was the plan! The BBC reports of the trail;

Mr Smith said: "He had been transferring to her substantial amounts of money which he could ill afford and which he had borrowed for that purpose.

"He is not a wealthy man by any means. On the contrary he was living on state benefits.

"He had credit card debts and bank liabilities of more than £90,000."

Furthermore;

Experts described it as "damaged, brutalised and mutilated", but were able to tell that it was the Durham folio by its dimensions and by a handwritten note, referring to the play Troilus And Cressida.

The Judge, Richard Lowden described the Folio as;

"quintessentially English treasure" and said damage to it was "cultural vandalisation"

At the Trial, which took place last year, Richard Lowden said to Mr Scott;

"Your motivation was for financial gain. You wanted to fund an extremely ludicrous playboy lifestyle in order to impress a woman you met in Cuba"

"You are to some extent a fantasist and have to some degree a personality disorder and you have been an alcoholic.

"It is clear that from the (psychiatric) report you are not suffering from any mental disorder."

The court heard that once Mr Scott was suspected of theft of the Folio, the British Embassy, FBI and Durham Police were brought in to investigate the crime. It was relayed that Mr Scott had 25 previous convictions relating to dishonesty, dating back to 1977.

Mr Scott has been found guilty of handling stolen goods but has been cleared of the theft of the Folio. He has now been sentenced to eight years in jail where it appears, oh wondrous justice, that he has been given a responsibility in the prison library!

The Folio, estimated to be worth between 1 and 3 million pounds even in its damaged state, has now been returned to the University of Durham and will be on display until March as part of the 'Treasures of Durham University' exhibition. The University then plan to spend this coming year conserving the Folio whilst trying to minimise any further erosion to the artefact caused by its vandalism.

The BBC also reported that that the Head of Heritage Collections at the University, Sheila Hingley said;

she was shocked when she saw the damaged folio because, although she had not seen it first hand, she had seen photos and it had been in a good condition.

She said: "But when I saw it when it came back it was horrifying, especially having lost its title page, and that was what I really felt very strongly about because that was the destruction of some historical evidence that was very important."

Ms Hingley said: "How anybody could vandalise a book like that I just do not know."

The folio is in such a condition that when it is touched another part of the sewing breaks and leaves come loose.

Ms Hingley said: "We are showing it as it is. I want people to see what a thief can do to destroy evidence on what I consider a work of art, certainly a work of history.

"But when it comes off display we will conserve it and make sure that it has a nice robust binding and will remain in the state it is is in now, it won't deteriorate any further.

"Bill Bryson, author and Chancellor of Durham University snnounced on the University website;

"Shakespeare's First Folio is arguably the most important book in English literature. It is fantastic that Durham's copy is coming home at last.

"I look forward to joining everyone in welcoming this wonderfully important book home to the University and the City when it eventually goes on display."

Vice Chancellor, Prof. Chris Higgins also says;

"We are delighted that the Folio will be able to be exhibited again alongside the many other historic and medieval treasures cared for by the University."

Professor Higgins added: "Since the theft, our security arrangements at Palace Green have been significantly tightened.

"The whole of the University Library, including Cosin's Library, is currently being refurbished to ensure all our treasures, of which this book is only the tip of the iceberg, are much more accessible to students, staff and the public while being fully protected both physically and environmentally."

For further information on this story and of University of Durham's other fine collections and future exhibitions of the Folio please see the links below:-

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-wear-11989311

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-wear-10838480

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10567772

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10343040

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10571122

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-wear-12176338

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-wear-12198849

http://www.lovereading.co.uk/news/800001263/rare-shakespeare-book-found-in-us.html

http://www.dur.ac.uk/news/shakespeare_folio/?itemno=10344

http://www.culture24.org.uk/history+%26+heritage/literature+%26+music/art315901

Mona Lisa Revealed - The Results are In!

New claims to the real subject of the Mona Lisa have again been made, this time apparently confirming not only the model who sat for Leonardo but also the location the artwork was painted in.

Carla Glori, who has used the recent numeric discovery in the eyes of the Mona Lisa to back her conclusions,(which was investigated by Sig Silvano Vinceti and written about in the Guardian and on here of course, last month) claims that the landscape in the background, which was previously believed to be imaginary, is in actual fact a real existing place in a town called Bobbio in Northern Italy.

"The twisting road from the painting can be found there, as is the arched bridge that Da Vinci would have seen from the windows of the town's castle"

Ms Glori's conviction of the location of the painting has been drawn upon by investigating the recent identity of the model for the artwork. Always believed to have been Lisa del Giocondo, Ms Glori ventured into the possibility that the subject could have been Bianca Giovanna Sforza, the daughter of Ludovico Sforza who controlled the area of Bobbio and whose famous library da Vinci probably used like many other artists and scientists of the time.

The Guardian describes the town as;

A small medieval town whose abbey was a model for Umberto Eco in The Name of the Rose, Bobbio and its Roman bridge sit astride the Trebbia valley, which was once described by Ernest Hemingway as the most beautiful in the world.

Ms Glori used the research conducted by Silvano Vinceti who found the numbers 72 in the Mona Lisa's pupils. She believes that this number refers to the year 1472 marking a near disaster for the bridge in the background of the painting, which was nearly overcome by floods in Bobbio in that year.

Sig Silvano Vinceti's team of researchers, say the Guardian are not entirely convinced by the reports from Ms Glori who claims that Bianca Giovanna Sforza was the original Mona Lisa sitter;

we believe Bianca Giovanna Sforza is unlikely because she died at 15 and the sitter is at least 22," he said. Glori said she believed Da Vinci may have aged Sforza's face over the years he spent finishing the painting in a bid to hide her identity following her father's downfall.

The Guardian also reports;

Martin Kemp, a renowned Da Vinci scholar, said that he was not convinced. "The portrait is almost certainly of Lisa del Giocondo, however unromantic and un-mysterious that idea might be," he said, adding that he also had his doubts on Bobbio. "Leonardo is remaking an archetypal landscape on the basis of his knowledge of the 'body of the earth'."

So it is not only I questioning the credibility of this loose claim. Surely Leonardo would have been familiar with the landscape surrounding Bobbio, especially if he knew the Library and Ludovico Sforza territory. The thing about artists is that they can pick and choose what they want to create, so to see a familiar landscape and depict it in a painting as a mysterious yet recognizable one, is, as they say, artistic license. A painting made up of many clues, symbols, designs, ideas and codes can hardly have been made from one single visual memory alone and does not i fear, point to the paintings location of creation nor to the identity of the true model for the Mona Lisa.

Like so many other things about this painting i believe it will remain a topic of intrigue, investigation and argument for years to come.

See:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2011/jan/09/mona-lisa-bobbio-da-vinci?INTCMP=SRCH

http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2010/dec/12/mona-lisa-eyes-model-identity?INTCMP=SRCH

http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/jonathanjonesblog/2010/dec/14/eyes-mona-lisa-leonardo-da-vinci?INTCMP=SRCH

Castle of the Month - Drumlanrig Tapestry Treasure!

Drumlanrig Castle & Country Estate sits in the heart of Dumfries and Galloway in South Western Scotland in breathtaking surroundings and dramatic views. The Castle is the home of Duke & Duchess of Buccleuch and Queensberry and was constructed in the late 17thC (1691) on the commission of William Douglas, the first Duke of Queensberry.

The magnificent castle is a leap and bound from those styles which had gone previously and is often considered to be the first of its kind built in the Renaissance manner.

Nick named the 'Pink Palace' due to the warm red tones of sandstone from which it is constructed, the castle is built upon the site of an ancient Douglas stronghold within the Nith Valley. The woodlands and grounds of the castle are truly wonderful and span a considerable 40 acres and are open all year round to the public who can enjoy the footpaths and cycle trails and also utilise the cycle hire at the old stables in the castle courtyard.

The famous Douglas family have been associated with Drumlanrig since the 14thC when William Douglas became the first Laird (Scottish Lord) of the Estate. The story behind the Duchy of Buccleuch and how the crowned heart and wings emblem came about is quite interesting.

This enigmatic emblem of the Buccleuch Duchy is littered about the castle and estate; carved into the wood, engraved into the stonework, wrought out of iron, textured into the expensive leather wallpaper and even sewn into the carpets throughout. It can hardly go unnoticed by the visitor to Drumlanrig.

This flying heart is the result of the romantic and dramatic events, which unfolded in the summer of 1329 and the subsequent legacy of a dying man's wish. The Drumlanrig website elucidates;

In the early summer of 1329, Robert Bruce, King of Scots, lay dying. He had been ill for some time and not even a pilgrimage in the spring to the shrine of Saint Ninian at Whithorn had eased his pain. Robert had long hoped to go on crusade against the enemies of Christ. He summoned the most powerful men of his kingdom and reminded them of his desire to go, like his grandfather, on crusade. He asked that, after his death, his heart should be taken from his body, embalmed and carried on crusade by some worthy knight. Among those at Bruce's bedside was James Douglas, his closest companion. It was to this remarkable man that the task of carrying out Bruce's wish was given.

Robert Bruce died at the age of fifty-four, on June 7 1329. His body was buried with suitable pomp in Dunfermline Abbey close by that of his wife, Elizabeth. His embalmed heart was ready to begin its journey. There was no prospect of going directly to the Holy Land, where there had been no Christian presence since the loss of Acre in 1291, but the infidel could be found in Spain, where Alfonso XI of Castile was about to campaign against the Moors. It is likely that Douglas saw Spain as the first stage of a long journey for he had, we know, allocated seven years to the fulfilment of his promise to Bruce. In the early spring of 1330, Douglas, with companions such as Robert and Walter Logan, William Keith, William Sinclair, and his brother John set sail from Scotland. In a silver and enamel casket on a chain about his neck Douglas carried Bruce's heart.

At length, he reached Seville where he was welcomed by Alfonso. Alfonso entrusted to Douglas the command of a division of his army in the campaign against the Moors of Granada. The armies met outside the town of Teba de Ardales. What followed brings us back to the flying heart of Drumlanrig Castle. Douglas, known for his cautious and sensible methods in battle, for once forgot his military principles. He allowed himself to be enticed into a reckless pursuit of a number of fleeing Moors. He had been deceived by a tactic perfected by the Moors and cut off with three of his companions from the main flight. Tradition has it that Douglas, realising that he could not escape, took Bruce's heart from the casket about his neck and flung it ahead of him into the midst of the Moors, crying: "Forward, brave heart, as ever thou were wont to do, and Douglas will follow thee or die". That same tradition tells us that when Douglas' body was found after the battle by his grieving men, it was ringed by dead Moors. Douglas had died in battle fighting with the fierce courage he had always displayed in the service of Robert Bruce.

Bruce's heart was brought back to Scotland by William Keith of Galston for burial in Melrose Abbey. Douglas' bones, too, were returned to Scotland by William Keith and placed in the Church of St Bride in Douglasdale. To this day, the motto of the Douglas family, to which the present Duke belongs, is 'Forward", an evocation of that cry by which the most celebrated bearer of the name guaranteed his lasting fame. The story, like Drumlanrig Castle itself, has a beauty of its own.

The name Buccleuch - 'buck-cleugh' meaning 'deer ravine' or 'The Buck in the Cleuch' - Cleuch meaning ravine, derives from, i am told by the tour guide (who has an indefatigable knowledge of every artefact in the palace and every history, real or hearsay known about the family or estate), a hunting incident. Out riding one day in the woodlands for the hunt, the King and his companions where suddenly a deer ran in front of the kings horse and nearly threw him to the ground where upon the deer, or Buck, was killed and the King supposedly rewarded a young man for his bravery with all the estates of what is now know as Buccleuch.

In The New Statistical Account of Scotland, Volume 1, this history and legend is described more formally:

In the lonely vale of Rankle-burn, surrounded by a dense mass of hills, are the two forlorn farm-steadings of the Buccleuchs. A deep ravine, near the road leading from them to Hawick, is pointed out as the place where the buck was slain, and which gave, according to tradition, their name and title to the family of Buccleuch. Let the limping lines of old Satchels carry us thither.

" Good Lancelot Scot, I think his book be true,
Old Rankle-burn is designed Buccleuch now ;
Yet in his book no balls read he,
It was buck's cleuch, he read to me ;
He told me the name, the place, the spot,
Came all by the hunting of the buck.
In Scotland no Buccleuch was then.
Before the buck in the cleuch was slain."

A small crook, in the steepest part of the cleuch, about half-way between the east-house and the mill-dam-ford, (which is a pool or ford on the Hawick road,) is pointed out as the place where the buck was taken; but, if Satchels be correct, it was not here the buck was slain, for he says,

" The very place where the buck was slain,
He built a stone house, and there he did remain."

Now the foundations of such a house, as we might conceive it should be, were dug up between three and four years ago, and upon the spot has been built, within these twelve months past, the farm-house of Easter Buccleuch. * In the buck's cleuch are the marks of the site of an old mill.

" For they built a mill on that same burn,
To grind dog's bran, tho' there grew no corn."

Fifty years ago, the walls of this mill were " knee high;" now they are only a rude outline, being a very little above the ground, overgrown with moss. About a Scotch mile above the farm-steading, and close on the Rankle-burn, is to be seen the lonely spot on which once stood the noted kirk or chapel of Buccleuch. There is still here to be seen the feeble outline of the old wall, with the kirk-yard dike ; and around the whole is the crumbling form of a stell ovfauld, for the sheep on the farm at certain seasons. The marks where houses seem to have stood, are still visible on the burn side.

* " There are no vestiges of any building at Buccleuch, except the site of a chapel, &c." says Sir Walter Scott in his notes to the Lay of the Last Minstrel; and all the writers we have seen giving a description of this ancient and famed spot, use nearly the same language. But we are inclined to think that the family of Buccleuch had once a baronial residence here." See in the Notes to the Lay of the Last Minstrel, an account of this spot written by the person who dug up the foundations

For art lovers Drumlanrig also holds a wonderful interest housing one of the finest private collections of artworks and furniture in the U.K. with paintings by Rembrandt, Holbein & Thomas Gainsborough all on display. It seems however, that even the artworks in this castle hold as much mystery and intrigue as the castle history itself.

The ninth Duke of Buccleuch, John Montagu Douglas Scott, had been deeply upset in 2003 by the theft of a rare, small but priceless painting by Leonardo da Vinci from his private collection; The Madonna of the Yarnwinder.

The painting, dated to 1501, was estimated by Christy's at a conservative price of between 15-20m. It seems that somehow, during a tour of the castle, the painting was stolen from the wall by two men posing as tourists.

The painting then turned up associated with a Lancashire lawyer, named Marshall Ronald who tried to extort a reward from the late Duke for the safe return of the painting to Drumlanrig. The Guardian reports;

Marshall Ronald admitted in court that he committed the "cardinal sin" of taking his clients' money because he "passionately" wanted to return the masterpiece by Leonardo da Vinci to its rightful owners, the Duke of Buccleuch and his family.

Ronald, a lawyer from Skelmersdale in Lancashire, is one of five men, including two other solicitors, accused of plotting to extort money from the duke with a threat that the masterpiece, Madonna of the Yarnwinder, would be destroyed if he failed to comply.

and the trial still continues though the original has been safely found!

The Castle truly has some remarkable objects and an incredible history linked with almost each and every one! For me however, the most intriguing and playful artefact of the estate has to be the tapestry in the magnificent entrance hall. From glimpses of anecdotal verbal histories gleamed from my tour guide (well worth taking!) and from communications with Sandra Howet, Private Secretary at Buccleuch estate, the tapestry, dated between late 16thC and early 17thC, is;

believed to have been worked by Mary, Queen of Scots, assisted by her ladies-in-waiting, while imprisoned

Although the current inventory of the work states that it is;

A rectangular needlework panel worked in colours with a Queen, a nobleman, attendants and soldiers in an extensive landscape, and with animals, buildings and trees, late 6th/early 17th Century 22in. x 73in., in later carved oak frame with the Scottish Royal Arms to the cresting and the thistle to the base, circa 1830

A detailed and intricate piece of tapestry, i found it genuinely delightful to look at, in those diluted tones of pale green and blue. But on closer inspection, when admiring the main figure of the tapestry, made as an obvious representation of Queen Elizabeth I, one can't help but smile as you notice the beard lacing the Queens chin, in a bold and conspicuous fashion. This Queen with full facial hair is accompanied by male followers, whilst an opposing Queen is mirrored on the other side, surrounded by ladies.

This i feel, is clear representation of the two battling Queens, one with all the appearance of a true Queen, a woman who seems to know her place in court perhaps, and in society. Whilst the other Queen is in the disguise of a regal leader; one who assumes to do a mans job? Or in the Catholics eyes, one who has taken the throne without the consent of God.

To me it speaks volumes of Mary, Queen of Scots feelings regarding Elizabeth I and her provenance from the man who set out to destroy the Catholic Church in England. The beard being an allusion to the heritage of Elizabeth I and her role in society. If this tapestry is not by Mary, Queen of Scots however, it speaks of much more dangerous attitudes towards the Queen from the public in general.

Drumlanrig was a most fascinating and enjoyable visit as an example of late Renaissance in the U.K. It has a lovely tea rooms, several working artisans shops in the courtyard, full cycle & walking facilities in the grounds and of course, a wonderfully eclectic array of historisocities within its walls. Well worth the trip!

For more information on how to visit Drumlanrig Castle & Estates, and for details on news, events and histories linked to the Drumlanrig Estate and the Douglas family, please see the links below:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2010/mar/03/leonardo-duke-buccleuch-trial

http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2010/mar/29/leonardo-plot-marshall-ronald-evidence?INTCMP=SRCH

http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2010/mar/02/leonardo-da-vinci-extortion-plot?INTCMP=SRCH

http://www.drumlanrig.com/default.asp?PageId=47

http://everything2.com/title/Duke+of+Buccleuch

http://books.google.com/books?id=Do_VAAAAMAAJ&pg=RA2-PA66&lpg=RA2-PA66&dq=The+Buck+in+the+Cleuch&source=bl&ots=j_7X2gu6Nr&sig=aMoUOP7XpEU6UtT980C-gA1fRE4&hl=en&ei=5RYuTcChNImFhQf3gcWyCQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5&sqi=2&ved=0CC0Q6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=The%20Buck%20in%20the%20Cleuch&f=false

http://www.lairweb.org.nz/leonardo/yarnwinder.html