Raeburn’s oeuvre is, of course, universally recognised as a pinnacle of Scottish artistic accomplishment. Another, far older peak is represented by Scotland’s extant Pictish and Celtic heritage. Though there is clear evidence of intermingling between these two peoples (eventually united under Kenneth Mac Alpin in 843 CE), the former survives mainly in the form of sculptured stones, dating from around the 7th to the 10th centuries – apart from the resplendent hoard of silverware known as St Ninian’s Treasure, discovered in Shetland in 1958.

Celtic traditions – originally pagan in nature – were extensively incorporated into Christian iconography, and stand as a salient early example of internationalism. The various wanderings of the Celts, and of Celtic Church missionaries, are apparent in a mix of Scandinavian, Saxon, Mediterranean, Byzantine and Middle Eastern – as well as Pictish - influences.

The resulting designs intertwine symbolic, animal and abstract forms, secular and scriptural imagery, and naturalistic depiction in a manner that some researchers have speculatively linked with the patterns found in Celtic music and Gaelic poetry. By far the finest relic from this era is the Book of Kells, generally renowned as an Irish treasure, but now believed to have been begun at St Columba’s monastery on Iona, then removed to Ireland – with which western Scotland shared a largely unified culture – for safekeeping, under threat of Viking invasion in 807.

On the subject of Vikings, an much-loved microcosm of their artistic legacy in Scotland is represented by the 12th century Lewis chessmen, 93 splendidly characterful figures carved from walrus ivory and whales’ teeth, originally crafted in Norway and unearthed on a beach in the Western Isles in 1831. They form the largest single group of exclusively recreational objects found from this period.

However scarce in number, these and other subsequent medieval artefacts unquestionably point to a highly-evolved visual culture, firmly plugged in - via aristocratic and ecclesiastic networks, and evolving trade links - to wider European international developments in style, taste and technique.