Richard Drummond spotted a colorful stained glass window for sale in a Moffat, Scotland thrift shop for just $25, and was told it came from an old house in the area that had been abandoned for years. When he cleaned off decades of grease with a brush, he discovered stunning artwork beneath depicting what could be a knight, with a Latin inscription around the edges that roughly translates to “Robert Bruce, King of the Scots.” The 49-year-old antique dealer immediately knew he had something interesting and started researching online while seeking help from local and international experts to determine the age of the relic. BBC’s Bidding Room experts confirmed the glass could be up to 700 years old, dating back to the 14th century when King Robert the Bruce fought to restore Scotland’s independence and became a national hero.
Richard believes the glass may have traveled from France via the Knights Templar, while one expert thinks it was installed in a castle window taken over by the conquering king, though nobody knows which castle yet. The local museum curator examined the engravings and painting style, believing it was “hundreds of years old” and potentially priceless if proven to be from that period. Richard calls it a massive historical find for Scotland and hopes it will eventually be installed in a museum if proven historically significant. He describes the medieval art as stunning and perfectly preserved, a forgotten piece of Scottish history that was just sitting in a Moffat thrift shop waiting to be discovered.
