STONE POSES

Legendary Scottish relic is the star of exhibition on Perth’s place in history

The £27 million Perth Museum will be handed over to the people of Perth this Saturday when it opens its doors to the public for the first time.

At a special preview on Thursday, those behind the transformation of Perth City Hall said they are both excited and emotional about “handing over the baby”.

Online tickets to see the centre piece Stone of Destiny on the opening weekend were gone within 13 minutes.

Twelve people can see the relic at a time over 10-minute slots throughout the day.

As part of an immersive experience a video is projected onto three walls of the special room where it is on display, telling its history with the encased relic glistening in the centre.

The museum tells the story of the Fair City’s place in ancient and modern Scotland.

It is managed in partnership between Perth and Kinross Council and Culture Perth and Kinross.

Culture Perth and Kinross chief executive, Helen Smout, said: “I’m incredibly excited but also a little bit terrified about handing over the baby.

“It stops being our project and becomes a project for the people of Perth; it’s their building and their museum.

“I’m so excited to see it come to fruition - to be able to display just under 3000 objects which is double what we had before.”

Artefacts were transferred from the old Perth Art Gallery and Museum - now Perth Art Gallery - to the new Perth Museum in what was Perth City Hall.

And the museum’s heart- the Stone of Destiny - does not disappoint.

Ms Smout said: “When it was brought in, it was such a surreal moment.

“When it was finally in a case and we stood back, there was a real moment. “Everyone was like ‘it sparkles.’” Architect Francine Houben of Mecanoo - who worked on the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library on New York’s Fifth Avenue at the same time drew comparisons between the two buildings.

She said: “They are both 1914 buildings with the same issues of how to make it accessible.”

The architect said she had to “work almost like a surgeon” being sensitive with the transformation and stressed the importance of “giving ownership to the local community”.

She said: “This is a new great living room for the city of Perth.”

Perth and Kinross Council’s head of Culture and Community Services Fiona Robertson said: “I have always been really passionate about the great civic museum collection and how they tell the history of Scotland - stories that are hyper local and international; the Stone of Destiny is a great example of that.

“It’s one of the most iconic objects in Scottish and UK history.”