134:
44:
17:
165:
113:, recorded the medallions and the names of various owners in 1817. This work indicates that the surviving heads came from the King's inner hall. The surviving timber structure (now concealed) of the adjacent King's bed chamber ceiling is unusual, indicating that its ceiling was also elaborately decorated.
156:
38 medallions now survive, and most are displayed in a dedicated museum in the upper floor of the Palace at
Stirling above the Queen's outer chamber. The heads are around 74 cm in diameter. They were carved from planks of Baltic oak from a Polish source, glued together to make up the required depth.
160:
One carving (Head number 29) has an original design sketched on its back of a baluster flanked by two figures holding masks. Replica carvings were made for the 2010 restoration of the Palace, and these were painted based on examination of surviving traces of colour, and research into
180:, while others portray mythological characters including Hercules, and at least two carvings represent Roman emperors. One female portrait (number 40), the original destroyed in a fire in 1940, was recreated for the 2010 restoration and is said to depict Mary of Guise.
492:
89:
was a significant contributor to the project. A carpenter and carver, Robert
Robertson, was recorded working at Stirling Castle in this period, and was paid for work on the ceiling of the Queen's inner chamber at Falkland Palace.
120:
described the late 1530s as a period of relative stability in
Scotland, and because James V was provided with heirs, he turned his attention to "useless buildings" and taxed the church and nobility to fund these projects.
133:
74:
had rebuilt
Stirling Castle "with diligence and sumptuous expense", and some of the medallion head carvings may have been intended to depict ancient heroes as supposed forebears of the
109:, before the King's inner chamber or inner hall ceiling was dismantled in 1777, and the heads were dispersed among antiquarian collectors. An illustrated book by Jane Graham,
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36:. The style, in origin, was based on Italian architectural decoration and at Stirling was probably derived from a French source. Similar medallions carved in stone adorn
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478:
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673:
507:(Edinburgh: John Donald, 2024), p. 197: Vajira Premadasa & Michael Pearce, "Digital Visualisation and Design Development in Historic Building Projects",
668:
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Interpretation of the surviving heads has developed and changed. In the 19th century, the medallion currently identified as
Margaret Tudor, holding a
43:
176:
The subject matter is varied, and it is generally accepted that some of the medallions depict members of the
Scottish royal family and
633:
297:(Brill, 2019), pp. 19–39: Sally Rush, "The Stirling heads: an essay in nobility", Birgitte Bøggild Johannsen & Koen Ottenheym,
70:. There is very little documentation for the works. James V may have been inspired by a current belief that the Roman general
122:
62:
rebuilt the royal lodgings at
Stirling Castle to form a new Palace, which included suites for the king and his consort
184:
252:(Historic Scotland, 2015), p. 97: Charles McKean, "Sir James Hamilton of Finnart: A Renaissance Courtier-Architect",
207:
125:, writing about the same years, praised James V for his patronage of expert craftsmen, especially foreign artisans.
398:
295:
Ambitious
Antiquities, Famous Forebears: Constructions of a Glorious Past in Early Modern Netherlands and in Europe
16:
299:
Beyond Scylla and
Charybdis: European courts and court residences outside Habsburg and Valois/Bourbon territories
67:
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Charles McKean, "Gender
Differentiation in Scottish Royal Palaces", Monique Chatenet & Krista De Jonge,
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are a group of large oak portrait medallions made around the year 1540 to decorate the ceiling of a room at
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The decorated coffer ceilings at Stirling were mentioned by a small number of travel writers including
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Michael Pearce, "A French Furniture Maker and the Courtly Style in Sixteenth-Century Scotland",
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Ailsa Murray, "Scottish Renaissance Painting Ceilings and the Stirling Heads Project",
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A Passion for Castles: The Story of MacGibbon and Ross and the Castles they surveyed
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A Passion for Castles: The Story of MacGibbon and Ross and the Castles they surveyed
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Stirling Castle sculpture research reports for Historic Environment Scotland, 2023
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The Stirling Head carvings were traditionally attributed to a Scottish craftsman
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146:
609:
Catalogue of Antiquities, Works of Art and Historical Scottish Relics
578:(Historic Environment Scotland, 2023), pp. 68–71: John G. Harrison,
561:(Historic Environment Scotland, 2023), pp. 20–23: John G. Harrison,
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Stirling Castle Palace: Dendrochronological analysis of oak and pine
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With Thy Towers High: The Archaeology of Stirling Castle and Palace
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With Thy Towers High: The Archaeology of Stirling Castle and Palace
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With Thy Towers High: The Archaeology of Stirling Castle and Palace
595:(Historic Environment Scotland, 2023), pp. 16–20: John G. Dunbar,
301:(University Press of Southern Denmark: Odense, 2015), pp. 225-236.
163:
132:
42:
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654:"Restoring Renaissance Glory at Stirling Castle", Engine Shed HES
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Mar Lodge translation of the history of Scotland by Hector Boece
352:(Edinburgh: Historic Scotland, 2011), p. 37: John G. Dunbar,
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The Identification and interpretation of the Stirling Heads
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The Identification and interpretation of the Stirling Heads
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The Identification and interpretation of the Stirling Heads
322:
G. Hay, 'Scottish Renaissance Architecture', David Breeze,
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Tricia Golledge, "Jane Ferrier and The Stirling Heads'" HES
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Stirling Heads Reveal Their Painted Faces: Build Scotland
324:
Studies in Scottish Antiquity presented to Stewart Cruden
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Rebirth of a Palace: The Royal Court at Stirling Castle
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Rebirth of a Palace: The Royal Court at Stirling Castle
535:(Historic Scotland, 2011), pp. 78–79, 131-161, 142–143.
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Rebirth of a Palace: The Royal Court at Stirling Castle
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Heritage and Identity: Shaping the Nations of the North
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Rebirth of a Palace: The Royal Court at Stirling Castle
311:
Lord Strathallan's Genealogy of the House of Drummond
613:
David Laing: A Memoir of His Life and Literary Work
582:(Edinburgh: Historic Scotland, 2011), pp. 131–161.
293:Karl A.E. Enenkel & Konrad Adriaan Ottenheym,
222:(Tuckwell: Historic Scotland, 1999), pp. 36, 166.
611:(Edinburgh, 1859), pp. 161–163: Gilbert Goudie,
235:(Paris, 2014), pp. 96–98: Rosalind K. Marshall,
531:(London, 2010), pp. 177–192: John G. Harrison,
168:Recreation of a Stirling Head, said to depict
565:(Edinburgh: Historic Scotland, 2011), p. 113.
419:, "Renaissance in the North", J.M. Fladmark,
397:(National Museums of Scotland, 2024), p. 16:
8:
356:(Tuckwell: Historic Scotland, 1999), p. 165.
145:, with the Stirling Heads thought to depict
269:(Tuckwell: Historic Scotland, 1999), p. 52.
85:, and it is likely that a French colleague
645:Sally Rush, "Looking at Marie de Guise",
477:, XXXII (2018), p. 130: Lynda Robertson,
450:(Historic Scotland, 2008), pp. 10–11, 16
66:. The building works were supervised by
20:Stirling Head carving thought to depict
679:Visual and material culture of Scotland
548:(Edinburgh: John Donald, 2024), pl. 16.
482:(Historic Scotland, 2008), pp. 4, 5, 18
464:(Historic Scotland, 2015), pp. 108–109.
369:(Historic Scotland, 2015), pp. 118–128.
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191:, was thought to depict Mary of Guise.
47:Original "Stirling Heads" displayed at
381:History of Scotland by George Buchanan
233:Le prince, la princesse et leurs logis
460:Gordon Ewart & Dennis Gallagher,
248:Gordon Ewart & Dennis Gallagher,
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674:Renaissance architecture in Scotland
629:The Stirling Heads: Fleming Woelfell
406:, 1 (Edinburgh: STS, 1899), p. 353
404:Historie and cronicles of Scotland
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669:Material culture of royal courts
365:Thorsten Hanke, "The Ceilings",
326:(Edinburgh, 1984), pp. 205, 207.
599:(HMSO:RCAHMS, 1975), pp. 3, 19.
239:(London: Collins, 1978), p. 63.
283:(Edinburgh: STS, 1946), p. 224
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480:Stirling Heads Report, STC029
395:Scottish Furniture, 1500–1914
339:(HMSO: RCAHMS, 1975), p. 41.
187:, then in the possession of
161:sixteenth-century practice.
123:Robert Lindsay of Pitscottie
436:(HMSO:RCAHMS, 1975), p. 22.
383:, 2 (Glasgow, 1827), p. 318
710:
615:(Edinburgh, 1918), p. 133.
423:(Routledge, 2015), p. 138.
399:Aeneas James George Mackay
137:Portrait of the antiquary
313:(Edinburgh, 1831), p. 62.
256:, 42 (1999), pp. 141-172.
68:James Hamilton of Finnart
517:10.14236/ewic/EVA2013.36
83:John Drummond of Milnab
544:Janet Brennan-Inglis,
503:Janet Brennan-Inglis,
354:Scottish Royal Palaces
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220:Scottish Royal Palaces
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143:William Fettes Douglas
72:Gnaeus Julius Agricola
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511:(2013), pp. 173–180.
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254:Architectural History
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111:Lacunar Strevelinense
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55:Background
99:John Ray
694:James V
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