Surprising Revelations
Close examination of objects in the Royal Collection reveals unexpected details
![Pieter Brueghel the Elder, The Massacre of the Innocents, c.1565-7](https://cmsadmin.rct.uk/sites/default/files/Massacre_405787_16-9.jpg)
Close examination of objects in the Royal Collection occasionally reveals new and unexpected details, such as concealed mechanisms or an artist’s early ideas which survive as traces beneath the finished work. From hidden portraits and lucky tokens, to pop-up figures and lumbering elephants, this trail describes some of the surprising discoveries Royal Collection Trust conservators and curators have made while studying works from the Collection.