Art lovers spot ‘iPhone’ in 1882 painting sparking wild time travel theory
A painting from the 19th Century has sparked time travel theories after appearing to show an iPhone.
The Betrothal of Burns and Highland Mary, completed around 1882 by R. Josey and James Archer, depicts the world-famous Scottish poet Robert Burns and his lover, Mary Campbell, declaring their love for one another.
The artwork shows the pair standing over the banks of the River Ayr gazing at one another, both clutching onto a dark-coloured rectangle with rounded corners reminiscent of an early iPhone.
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The painting has given art fanatics pause for thought, with some questioning whether Scotland's national poet had secret time travel powers – given that the image predates the famous smartphone by a whopping 125 years.
Was Highland Mary demanding to read wayward Burns' Instagram DMs? Or maybe the poet was showing his beloved a meme?
If the painting's got you convinced of time travel, however, there may be a simple explanation behind the mystery object.
Burns and his lover famously met to declare their plans to marry over the west Scotland river in 1786 and marked the occasion with an ancient Scottish tradition – by exchanging Bibles over a running stream.
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So, it seems the mysterious black rectangle may in fact be a religious text and not a bizarre nod to the future after all.
But it's not the first time smartphones have seemingly made an appearance in older paintings.
Earlier this month, the Daily Star reported eagle-eyed art lovers had spotted what appeared to be an iPhone in a painting from nearly 90 years ago.
Umberto Romano painted Mr Pynchon And The Settling Of Springfield in 1937, about 70 years before the first edition of the Apple smartphone was released.
But despite the time discrepancy, fans insist they can see a man in the bottom right corner of the mural holding what looks like a very modern piece of tech to his face, even gripping it in his palm with his thumb free, as you would to stalk your ex's new fling on social media or swipe through Tinder.
Many have tried to guess what the mobile-like item could be, with some suggesting it could be a knife or a mirror.
Romano died in 1982 – before most people even had a mobile phone – so sadly we may never know what the primitive piece of tech was supposed to be.
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