THIS REPORT RELATES COUNCIL TO ITEM 8 ON THE AGENDA

PROVOST'S PANEL CORPORATE OPERATIONS

17 MAY 2016 NOT EXEMPT

SMITH ART GALLERY & MUSEUM EXPENDITURE REPORT

1 SUMMARY

1.1 This report invites the Provost’s Panel to note the interim report from the Director of the Stirling Smith Art Gallery and Museum reviewing the Common Good Fund’s contribution to the Smith.

2 RECOMMENDATION(S)

The Provost Panel is asked to:-

2.1 note the report from the Director of the Smith Art Gallery and Museum reviewing the Common Good Fund’s contribution to the Smith.

3 CONSIDERATIONS

3.1 The report with details of the additions made to the collection in the financial year 2015/16 is attached at Appendix 1. 4 POLICY/RESOURCE IMPLICATIONS AND CONSULTATIONS

Policy Implications

Equality Impact Assessment No Strategic Environmental Assessment No Single Outcome Agreement Yes Diversity (age, disability, gender, race, religion, sexual orientation) No Sustainability (community, economic, environmental) No Effect on Council’s green house gas emissions No Effect Strategic/Service Plan No Existing Policy or Strategy No Risk No Resource Implications Financial Yes People No Land and Property or IT Systems No Consultations Internal or External Consultations Yes

Equality Impact Assessment

4.1 The contents of this report have been considered under the Council’s Equalities Impact Assessment process and were assessed as not relevant for the purposes of Equality Impact Assessment.

Strategic Environmental Assessment

4.2 The contents of this report have been considered under the Environment Assessment () Act 2005 and a Strategic Environment Assessment is not required.

Single Outcome Agreement

4.3 The contents of this report are not relevant to the Single Outcome Agreement.

Other Policy Implications

4.4 None

Resource Implications

4.5 The resource implications are as set out in this report

Consultations

4.6 The report is based on information provided by Corporate Services.

5 BACKGROUND PAPERS

5.1 None 6 APPENDICES

6.1 Appendix 1 – Report for the Common Good Fund on Stirling Smith Art Gallery 2015/16 purchases

Author(s) Name Designation Tel No/Extension

David Mackay Accounting Team Leader 01786 233354 [email protected]

Approved by Name Designation Signature

Gerard O’Sullivan Director of Corporate Operations

Date 26 April 2016 Reference

APPENDIX 1

Report for Common Good Fund, 25 April 2016

In the year 2015 – 2016, many significant new additions to the Stirling Smith collections were made courtesy of Stirling Common Good Fund. A purchase list, with price and registration numbers is attached.

This year, we were fortunate to be able to buy three paintings by Stirling – based artist Macneil Macleay (1806 – 1883). The main work is oil on canvas, “Loch Earn, Perthshire, from the east with the hills of Balwither [sic] in the distance”

Height 46cm x width 78.5cm, Frame: Height 67cm x width 97cm

Signed bottom right “N.Macleay 1868”. Handwritten title above, on back of the frame.

In original frame by J.A. Butti, carver, gilder, picture framer and looking glass manufacturer, 1 Queen Street, Edinburgh (Label on reverse of frame).

Artist: Macneil MacLeay (fl.1829–1862) was born in Oban, the son of Kenneth MacLeay of Glasgow and Oban, who was a man of considerable literary note. Macneil Macleay was a prolific painter of landscapes, mostly in oil, and had a love of Highland scenes. His brother Kenneth was a founder member of the RSA in 1820. Macneil Macleay was elected ARSA in 1836 but resigned in 1848. In 1840 he travelled to the Rhine where he made studies of the local landscape. His work is highly detailed and his romanticised views of the Highlands have a gentle charm. In 1848 he moved from Edinburgh to Stirling where he lived in Lower Bridge Street, in the shadow of the castle, until his death. Prior to this the Smith had only two paintings by him: Stirling Castle and Loch Awe. There are five in the collection of Perth Art Gallery, one in Angus Council and one in NTS. In 2006, we attempted to purchase a similar sized view of Stirling by the artist, at Christie’s in London. We went to a hammer price of £13,600, but the painting went to a private collector for twice as much. Securing this work for £1220 was therefore a bargain.

Two bodycolour works of Loch Achray and Loch Katrine were purchased in a separate

auction for £200. The Old Watercolour Society did not approve of artists using bodycolour, which had none of the translucency of watercolour. From the museum point of view, bodycolour is not subject to light damage in the same way as watercolour is, and does not need special low lighting.

21,276 The purchase of the maquette of ‘The King of Scots in Battle’ after the Great Seal of Robert the Bruce (1326-1329), polyester overlaid with polychrome decoration, the ebonised base with silver plaque inscribed 'The King of Scots in Battle after The Great Seal of Robert the Bruce 1326-29, by C D O Pilkington Jackson ARSA FRBS SC was a major highlight of the year. As there was no advance warning of the sale, and insufficient time to raise the money, the Friends of the Smith supported the entire purchase, having expected to spend much more.

Charles d'Orville Pilkington Jackson ARSA, FRBS, FRSA (1887-1973) is best known for his iconic equestrian statue of King Robert the Bruce at , and his significant part in the sculptural decoration of the Scottish National War Memorial. He trained at Edinburgh College of Art 1906-10, then attended the British School in Rome 1910-11. Thereafter he was based in Edinburgh throughout his career as a sculptor.

His oeuvre is not confined to military figures, but he had a special interest in the subject, no doubt stemming from his own military experience. This began in 1909 in the Edinburgh University Officers' Training Corps. Subsequently he served with the Royal Field Artillery in Egypt and Palestine 1914-18, and with the 3rd Anti-Aircraft Division in Scotland 1939-45. As a result, Pilkington Jackson had a facility for depicting military bearing and was meticulous about historical accuracy in dress and weaponry.

This work is of great importance to Stirling, and complements the Smith’s collection on Wallace, Bruce and Bannockburn. There is no comparable collection in any other Scottish museum, and people who are interested in the Wars of Independence know that the Smith is the place to visit. 95cm wide, 43cm deep, 121cm high (37in wide, 16 1/2in deep, 48in high). No 1 of 3 bearing assay marks for Hamilton and Inches, Edinburgh, 1967.

21,288. Two publications, Thorough Draining and Deep Ploughing by James Smith of , 1844 and Catalogue of W. Drummond & Sons, Seedsmen Stirling and Dublin, 1844.

It was James Smith of Deanston who made the Carse of Stirling what it is today, turning it from a marshy wasteland into the bread basket of Scotland, thanks to his agricultural innovations. The Drummonds commissioned a massive portrait of him, which is now on permanent display in the Smith, in thanks for his inventions. These works complement the agricultural collection in the Stirling Smith.

21,299 Stirling Harbour in the Snow by Henry Morley (1868 – 1937)

Henry Morley was born in Nottingham, the younger son of a wealthy family involved in the lace industry. He studied art in Paris at the Academie Julian where he met Isobel Hutchison, daughter of the Headmaster of the High School of Stirling. He then came to Stirling in c1894 to join Isobel at the Craigmill Country Atelier where they studied under Joseph Denovan Adam. They married in 1901 and settled in Stirling. In 1910 they moved into The Gables, an Arts & Crafts house and studio near the Borestone, designed & built for them. They became prominent figures in the local arts scene and were very well known Scottish artists. Morley died at The Gables in 1937. Isobel died in in 1946.

This is a small work by Morley, the 19th in the Smith collections. It was wrongly catalogued as “Edinburgh” in the auction sale and obtained at a very reasonable price.

21,305 Communion Silver

A pair of plain silver Communion cups, each on a spreading circular foot with flattened rim, moulded knop to the lower and upper inverted baluster shaped stem, the bucket shaped bowl inscribed, ‘The Communion Cups of the Kirk of Drymen, 1732’ and with slightly everted rim, by Johan Gotleiff Bilsinds, Glasgow circa 1732

Height – 21cms Height of bowl – 9.5cms Diameter of base – 11cms Diameter of bowl – 12cms Weight -509gms and 499gms respectively, or c16 troy ounces

A Britannia metal Communion flagon of plain tapering cylindrical form on moulded base, the body with applied reeded girdle and inscribed ‘Kirk of Drymen, 1852’, short spout and corkscrew thumb piece to the domed cover, the scroll handle with heart shaped termination, unmarked, mid-19th century, 31cms high.

A Britannia metal Communion plate inscribed ‘Kirk of Drymen, 1852’. 41cm in diameter.

From Strathendrick, and its inhabitants from early times. An account of the parishes of , , , Drymen, Buchanan, and Kilmarnock by John Guthrie Smith (1896):

In 1688 the Presbytery of Dumbarton was engaged in investigating the equipment of the different churches within its bounds and the efficiency of the schools.

On the 9th November 1668 the Minutes of the Presbytery bear: Drymen, “Anent the public guids” it was found that the Session possessed “a bazon for baptism and box for the poor’s money with two keyes in the custodie of two elders and ane black mortcloath dedicate at first by umq Ion Drummond at the milne of Drummond and the Sessione as ther Session book more amplie proports.”

There were no Communion vessels of any kind, and this is another proof of the widespread neglect of the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper in episcopal times.

In the 17th century it would appear that Communion was seldom celebrated in Drymen Kirk, the Presbytery noting in November 1688 that “there were no Communion vessels of any kind”.

During a visitation by the Presbytery on the 26th June 1705 it was observed that “the church had neither Communion cups, a table, nor tablecloths”. It was also noted that “the western gable of the Church had fallen down”. Again in December 1712 it was recorded that there were no Communion elements.

Eventually, at a meeting of the Kirk Session in December 1731 the following was agreed. “It is condescended that a general contribution be gathered through the whole parish ---- which is to furnish Communion Cups, that are wanting in this parish”. In July 1732 Communion Cups were acquired at a cost of £11.8s.0d.

From Drymen Parish Church, A Brief History (12pp, 1989):

A box was ‘discovered’ in the Bank at Drymen in 1986, which belonged to the Church, but which no key could be found. The Kirk Session decided to have the box opened by a locksmith, and when this was done it was revealed that it contained two silver Communion Cups and a wine flagon. On the cups is the inscription, “The Communion Cups of Kirk of Drymen 1732”, while the flagon is inscribed, “Kirk of Drymen 1852”. Thus was rediscovered, after some 100 years, what may well be the original Communion Cups of Drymen Church. New cups were gifted to the Church in the 1880s, and no doubt it was then that the old ones were put into the box, and placed in the bank for safe-keeping. =====

This is only the second set of communion silver to come into the Smith collections. As the purchase price was significant, money was obtained from the National Fund for Acquisitions, the Art Fund and the Friends of the Smith.

21,308 Gouache by James Hume Nisbet (1849 – 1923)

One of the tasks of the Stirling Smith Art Gallery and Museum is to collect and show the works of important Stirling artists. ‘The Nightmare’ is a recently purchased gouache by Stirling born artist and writer James Hume Nisbet (1849 – 1923) who is largely unknown in Scotland today, but is recognised as a significant figure in Australian cultural history. Nisbet was the son of James Nisbet, house-decorator, and his wife Jane, née Hume. He emigrated to Australia at the age of 16. He had an artistic disposition and became an actor at the Theatre Royal in Melbourne, and spent time exploring Australasia, returning to Britain in 1872. He then studied and practiced art, moving back to Scotland in 1873, where he married Helen, daughter of the sculptor Andrew Currie who did the Bruce statue on Stirling Castle Esplanade. From 1878 – 1885, he taught drawing at the Watt Institution (now Herriot Watt University). In 1886 he was commissioned by the publishers Cassell & Co. to go back to Australia to draw and write for their publications.

In total, Nisbet wrote and illustrated forty-six novels, about half set in Australia. He also wrote four volumes of poetry, five books on art including Where Art Begins (1892), collections of short stories, and travel books. He was the Alasdair Gray of his day, but in an Australian context and a good example of how Stirling people have often shaped the world.

21,310 Treasure Trove Purchases

TT 13/15 Strap Mount Buckle, found by metal detecting,

In combination with the medieval seal matrix from nearby (TT.14/15) these finds comprise a significant and interesting concentration of unusual medieval objects.

1. Silver swivel bar, the ends of the bar terminating in hooks and the shoulders of the swivel designed to resemble the heads of dogs. While the central rotating element is still in place, the suspensory hook is now missing.

Objects of broadly this type are commonly found in medieval hunting accoutrements as leash mounts, but almost all these other examples are copper alloy and form a complete loop. In this case the design would not be able to sustain the strain of a leash. It would however be able to suspend a belt of leather or textile for a blade or horn as commonly depicted in contemporary hunting scenes.

The style of the animal heads can be compared to other hunting objects and belt mounts, such as the 14th century mount from Hyde (BH-ECDF96), (itself broadly similar in style to two items from the Chalcis Hoard). Otherwise this is an unusual objects (or at least, an unusual survival) and no exact parallels can be offered. Length 36mm [NS 80952 93974]

2. Small complete annular buckle of a type commonly used in 13th-14th centuries. There are traces of tinning on the surface and the pin has a collar at the head in imitation of the pins of larger annular brooches. Dia 16mm; thickness 2mm [NS 80923 93974]

TT 14/15 Seal Matrix found by metal detecting, Cambuskenneth In combination with the two other medieval objects from nearby (TT.13/15) these finds comprise a significant and interesting concentration of unusual medieval objects.

Medieval vessica (oval shaped) seal matrix; although in good condition this matrix has been intentionally defaced, an act that is commonly attested to in medieval documents (when for example, a matrix is to be replaced and to prevent misuse) but is only very rarely found on archeological objects. The matrix has a star and crescent at the very top of the face (the crescent outside the central area and nestling amongst the lettering), symbols commonly associated with the owner being a member of a religious order. The central device shows an upright rectangular element, but otherwise both it and the lettering has been damaged by a mark which has been carefully and deliberately gouged across the face of the matrix, partially obliterating both legend and device.

The diminutive size of this matrix would indicate it was a personal matrix rather than an official matrix for a religious house. Unfortunately the defacement of the matrix has worked all too well and although the remaining lettering is still legible, the overall meaning of the inscription has been lost, the remaining lettering reading “S’ ---- ANIS/CIME----AII”

18x27mm

TT17/15 Silver finger ring, found Whitehall Farm, 1200 – 1300 Silver finger ring with a stirrup shaped bezel; conventionally such bezels were designed to support the small unshaped gemstones of the medieval period although there are a number of rings (like this example) where the bezel is used purely for decorative effect. Each side of the bezel is decorated with an equal armed cross and the shoulders of the ring with a sexfoil floral decoration

This is an unusual and interesting type of ring, and a number have been found by metal detecting in recent years, both in Scotland and in England. However none have been recovered from a securely datable context or hoard and, although undoubtedly medieval, the features would suggest it would be difficult to offer a date more precise than the 12th and 13th centuries. In terms of the decoration, a very similar ring was recovered from Mull and other, very similar, examples from Falkirk, Tayside and Dumfries & Galloway, making it an unusually wide distribution for medieval jewellery types in Scotland.

Internal diameter 19mm. Weight 2.4

21,313 1654 Map of by Johannes Blaeu (1596 – 1673)

This was obtained at auction at a cost of £90.00. It is mentioned on Stirling Council’s website that original copies can be seen in the National Library of Scotland and the British Library, and we felt that Stirling deserved to have an original too. The reverse has an account of Stirlingshire in Old Dutch, which is at present being translated by the Smith’s Dutch – speaking Belgian intern, Nele Thorrez.

The map shows places of economic importance such as Throsk, where there was a major pottery works supplying green glazed earthenware to the rest of Scotland.

The purchase of a sampler sewn by 11 year old Janet Jaffray of Throsk in 1825 should also be noted. We are trying to build a stronger historical profile for such places, through the purchase of relevant objects.

Stirling Common Good fund purchases, 2015 - 2016

21,267 Painting, Loch Earn by McNeil Macleay £1220* 21,274 Sampler by Janet Jaffray, Throsk, 1825 £60 21,276 King of Scots by Jackson, 1968 £3892 21,288 Ploughing pamphlet and Drummond Catalogue £75 21,299 Stirling Harbour in the Snow, Morley £338 21,302 Stirling Castle, 1946 by Henry Rushbury £180.36 21,305 Drymen communion silver, 1732 £7500*+ 21,308 Gouache by James Hume Nisbet (1849 – 1923) £136.40 21,310 Treasure Trove Purchases £1140 21,313 Two bodycolour drawings, M Macleay and 1654 map of Stirlingshire £242.44

Total Spent £14,784.20

*50% National Fund for Acquisitions Grant + 25% Art Fund Grant/ Friends of the Smith support

Elspeth King 25 April 2016 Stirling Smith Art Gallery and Museum