Arnold Bronckhorst, or Bronckorst or Van Bronckhorst was a Flemish or Dutch painter who was court painter to James VI of Scotland.
Oliver St John, 1st Baron St John of Bletso, signed and dated 1578 by Arnold Bronckorst
Regent Morton c. 1580, by Arnold Bronckorst (drawing)
A double portrait at Blair Castle of Mary, Queen of Scots and James VI by an anonymous artist, dated 1583, may reflect plans for Mary to return to Scotland and rule in "association" with her son
James VI, about 1574
Gold has been mined in Scotland for centuries. There was a short-lived gold rush in 1852 at Auchtermuchty and Kinnesswood, and another in 1869 at Baile An Or on the Kildonan burn in Helmsdale in Sutherland. There have been several attempts to run commercial mines. In the Lowther Hills, Leadhills, and Wanlockhead areas gold prospecting and the extraction of lead metal went hand in hand. From 1424, under the Royal Mines Act, until 1592, gold and silver mined in Scotland were deemed to belong to the crown. The 1592 Act vested rights for gold, silver, lead, copper, tin, and other minerals in the king's feudal tenants or other leaseholders, who would pay 10% of any profit to the crown. The Act also established a Master of Metals as a crown officer, a position held from June 1592 by Lord Menmuir. followed by Thomas Hamilton of Monkland in March 1607.
The Gold Burn at Kildonan, Sutherland
English prospectors Bevis Bulmer and George Bowes found gold near the Elvan water in the Lowther Hills.
George Douglas of Parkhead was said to have been killed by a landslide at his mine near Shortcleuch water while searching for gold.
