Museum adds to collection

THE most valuable collection ever to enter the National Museum of Scotland’s collection was set to go on display today.

a Byzantine sardonyx bowl mounted on a 16th-century gold stand has been donated to National Museums Scotland from the estate of the late Edmund de Rothschild.

The Hamilton-Rothschild tazza has been allocated under the Acceptance in Lieu scheme, which allows donors to leave major works of art to the nation in lieu of inheritance tax.

It was one of six “outstanding” items from the Hamilton Palace collection sold to Alfred de Rothschild shortly before the sale of Scotland’s greatest collection in 1882.

The tazza was going on temporary display in the National Museum of Scotland this morning, where it will remain for several months.