Art lovers spark time travel theory after spotting 'iPhone' in 1882 painting

31 May 2023 , 08:36

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Highland Mary and Scottish poet Robert Burns exchanging a mystery object in South Ayrshire, Scotland (Image: Getty Images)

Time travel theories have been circulating over a 19th Century painting which appears to show an iPhone.

Art lovers spotted what appears to be a smartphone in R. Josey and James Archer's 1882 painting, The Betrothal of Burns and Highland Mary.

The 140-year-old painting shows the world-famous Scottish poet Robert Burns and his lover Mary Campbell standing over the banks of the River Ayr and declaring their love for one another.

They are both seen holding onto a dark rectangle with rounded corners, reminiscent of an early iPhone.

Some art fans have questioned whether Scotland's national poet had secret time travel powers, given that it predates the world's first iPhone by 125 years.

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Perhaps he was showing his beloved a meme or suggesting she follow him on Instagram.

The painting shows the world-famous Scottish poet Robert Burns and his lover Mary Campbell (Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

If you are not convinced of the theory, there may be one simple explanation behind the mystery object which could be a religious text and not a glimpse into the future

Burns and Highland Mary famously met to share their plans to marry over the west Scotland river in 1786.

They marked the occasion by swapping Bibles over a running stream – an ancient Scottish tradition at the time.

It is not the first time smartphones have seemingly appeared in old paintings.

The object could be construed a the world's first iPhone launched 125 years after the painting was completed (Getty)

Eagle-eyed art fans spotted what looks like a 'time traveller' playing with an iPhone in another painting dating back 150 years.

The picture, titled 'The Expected One', shows a young woman strolling through the countryside with her eyes glued to a square object in her hand.

Painted by Ferdinand George Waldmüller in 1860, decades before electricity was first introduced to British households.

Art critics have insisted whatever the woman is holding is nothing to do with technology.

But art lovers are convinced it looks like she is staring at a smartphone - more than a hundred years before they were invented.

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Laura Sharman