The Great Tapestry of Scotland, the massive, 143-metre long embroidery project, which depicts the history of our country in 160 panels, caught the public imagination when it went on show in the Scottish Parliament during September, where it was viewed by almost 50,000 visitors.
For those who missed the exhibition in the summer, The Great Tapestry of Scotland can currently be viewed in its entirety at Cockenzie House and Gardens in East Lothian (exhibition running daily until 8 December 2013). But for two days in November, four of the panels will be missing – when they will be displayed in an effort to raise funds and awareness at an annual art exhibition in aid of Cancer Research at Adam House in the Cowgate.
Two of the panels on temporary loan to the art exhibition are completely new to the project as they were not ready by the time of the launch at Holyrood.
One of these depicts Ninian at Whithorn c400 AD and the other, the whaling industry which, between 1909 and 1965 was commanded from Leith Harbour (named after Edinburgh’s port) a whaling station on the northeast coast of South Georgia (near the Falkland Islands) established and operated by the famous Edinburgh-based company, Christian Salvesen Ltd.
Of the other two panels one is by the “Edinburgh Tenners” which depicts the era following the ice age when herds of reindeer, wild horses and other species migrated north to what is now Scotland, which by circa 8,500 BC was covered by wildwood in a vast green canopy. Dwarf willow was first, then came aspen, birch, pine, hazel, elm,oak, and finally lime. Under the dappled shade of the greenwood, animals browsed; red and roe deer, the huge wild cattle known as aurochs, wild boar and elk, and predators such as bears, wolves and lynx – and human beings. The streams swam with fish and in the temperate jungle that was Scotland, there will have been years when the hunting and gathering was good.
The ‘Edinburgh Tenners’ actually consist of 13 females, and they are so-called because all reside in the EH10 postal district of the capital.
The other panel depicts Dundee in its heyday as the world centre of ‘jute, jam and journalism’.
This year’s exhibition is being sponsored by the law firm, Blackadders, whose Edinburgh office is in Rutland Square. All four panels – and other works of art – will be available to view to the public on Tuesday & Wednesday 12th & 13th November from 10.30 am to 5.30 pm.
The Great Tapestry of Scotland was the brainchild of the best-selling author, Alexander McCall Smith, the historian Alistair Moffat and the artist Andrew Crummy. It was created on linen produced by Peter Greig & Co of Kirkcaldy which is Scotland’s only remaining linen manufacturer while the stitching required over 300 miles of woollen yarns from the English manufacturer, Appletons.
Photos ©Alex Hewitt http://www.alexhewitt.co.uk
Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
