Today’s #objectoftheweek had just gone on display in the museum for the first time when we had to close for lockdown. It's a fine example of a basket hilted backsword which belonged to the 19th Chief of Clan Keppoch, one of the family lines within Clan Donald. The scabbard inscription shows it was presented to him (‘Alasdair na Ceapach’) in 1802. The Keppoch line is under-represented in our collection so we were very pleased to be alerted by Mr Aldridge to the sale of this sword. It was purchased last year with help from the National Museums Scotland National Fund for Acquisitions. Museums and Heritage Highland #clandonald #highlandclans

Tune in tomorrow night on BBC ALBA for your fix of Gaelic drama (with subtitles) all filmed around us in Sleat.

Vibrant greens in the gardens at the moment. The bluebells are finally out and the big rhododendron is starting to open up. We'll keep you posted when it bursts into colour... Discover Scottish Gardens Sleat, perfectly Skye

We’ve chosen a very special painting for today’s #objectoftheweek. This portrait of Alasdair Ranaldson MacDonell, 15th Chief of Glengarry (1771-1828), is by the renowned artist Angelica Kauffman (1741-1807), one of the two female founding members of the Royal Academy of Arts. Flamboyant and with a fiery temper, Glengarry saw himself as the quintessential Highland chief and was the inspiration for the character of Fergus McIvor in Walter Scott’s novel Waverley. He formed his own Society of True Highlanders to preserve what he considered to be the pure Highland traditions. We are very fortunate also to have Glengarry’s dirk and powder horn in our collection – we’ll share those in future posts! See this and other paintings in our collection on the excellent Art UK website. #virtualmuseum #museumfromhome #clandonald #highlandclans Museums and Heritage Highland

It's International Museum Day 2020 and the theme is #MuseumsSparkJoy.
We’ve been having a poignant look through our visitors’ book and remembering all the good times. What do you love about museums? Tell us what you miss and what you are looking forward to #whenthisisover.
#IMD2020 @NationalMuseumsScotland