A PREVIOUSLY unseen portrait of Bonnie Prince Charlie is to go on view this weekend.
The image of Prince Charles Edward Stuart is go on public display, for the first time, at the National Museum of Scotland from 25 April.
The portrait is by the Venetian artist Rosalba Carriera.
It is pastel on blue paper, and shows the Prince wearing the Order of the Garter.
In a private collection for many years, it was sold at auction, at Christie's, for £40,000 last year.
The picture was purchased by The Pininski Foundation, which has lent it to the NMS for month-long display.
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The Pininski Foundation was founded 30 years ago and is based in Vaduz, Liechtenstein, and is a private charitable organisation and it lends its pictures free of charge.
It has a collection of late Stuart portraits, including portraits of King James VIII & III and Princess Clementina Sobieska by Antonio David, Prince Charles Edward by Rosalba Carriera and Hugh Douglas Hamilton, Charlotte Stuart Duchess of Albany by Hugh Douglas Hamilton and Francois Dumont, as well as a portrait of the Prince's granddaughter Princess Marie-Victoire de Rohan-Thorigny.
The Prince was 16 years old when it was painted and it is believed to be the only portrait of him pre-dating the 1745 uprising which was not painted in Rome. Carriera painted the prince in 1737 while he was in Venice on a tour.
The portrait was sent to King James in Rome who at some point gifted it to one of his friends and supporters.
It remained in a private collection unknown to the general public until it was auctioned in 2018.
The portrait will be displayed within the Scotland galleries of the National Museum of Scotland next to the display of Bonnie Prince Charlie related material including his silver canteen of travelling cutlery and targe or shield.
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