Perth Museum: Stone of Destiny may help city experience something akin to V&A effect's on Dundee – Scotsman comment

The Stone of Scone is Perth Museum’s star attraction but it’s far from the only interesting thing to see

Tomorrow, Perth Museum – a name of bold simplicity in an era of fancy titles – will open its doors with the Stone of Scone, aka Stone of Destiny, as the star attraction. While its origins are lost in the mists of time and obscured by spurious legends, its connections to Perthshire are clear.

The stone’s pulling power should be considerable, given its long royal connections. Before being taken by Edward I, it had clearly become an established part of Scottish coronation traditions. English and then British monarchs seemingly placed similar store in its ‘magic’.

Such a historic item, with the chance to wish for your own preferred destiny, may bring in many visitors. And prosaic types, for whom looking at a large piece of sandstone does not make for a day out, need not despair, if dragged along by more whimsical relatives. For there’s also a 3,000-year-old logboat, one of Bonnie Prince Charlie’s swords, and a silk doublet from the 1600s.

So Perth’s answer to Dundee’s V&A should do well and may even, we hope, have a similarly transformative effect.

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