A golden AK-47 assault rifle from one of Saddam Hussein’s palaces, which is thought to have been gifted to someone by the Iraqi dictator is going on display for the first time.

The weapon is part of a new exhibition at the Royal Armouries in Leeds, which features 40 other dramatic weapons including a diamond-encrusted Smith & Wesson revolver, as well as works by veteran-turned-artist Bran Symondson-Baxter.

Re:Loaded examines the cultural power of guns and whether deadly weapons can be disarmed through transforming them into works of art.

The rare “art guns” collection includes highly decorated weapons belonging to kings and tsarinas, high-profile diplomatic gifts to governments and generals, plus status symbols of the ultra-wealthy, the museum said.

The golden AK-47 turned up at Heathrow Airport and is likely to be from a palace in Iraq.

The museum said that dozens of these gold-plated rifles were found in royal palaces during the invasion of Iraq in 2003 and were used as a form of gifting for influence, known in Arab countries as Wasta.

The rifle is based on the Yugoslavian M70, a copy of the Russian AKM, itself a modernised Kalashnikov AK.

This firearm was discovered by UK Customs and Excise at Heathrow in 2003, along with a rocket-propelled grenade launcher, six bayonets and a sniper rifle in packages marked as computer equipment and bound for an address in the United States.

It came to the Royal Armouries when it inherited the Pattern Room collection from the Ministry of Defence in 2005.

Director general and master of the armouries, Nat Edwards, said: “This is a limited-time opportunity to get a rare viewing of some of our most highly decorated, stunning and rare pieces.

“This is not about the glorification of guns, but the power they hold – not just literally, but in a cultural sense too.

“Some of these arms symbolise power and wealth, others promote diplomacy and peace.

“We want to provoke thoughts and conversations around this subject and these objects, which are both beautiful and deadly, much like our wider collection.

“We must learn from the past as we shape the future, so this provocative show will really get people thinking. We’re ultimately asking why people decorate something so deadly.”

He said: “In a wider sense, we want to open up the Royal Armouries to a bigger audience and that means opening up our collection, some of which has never been on public display before like the golden rifle and Baby Browning.”

Re:Loaded also features pieces loaned by Mr Symondson-Baxter, the special forces veteran, photojournalist, artist and peace campaigner.

These are two decommissioned AK-47 rifles decorated with butterflies and Love Hearts sweets to highlight the differences between the stark reality of war and life and nature.

Mr Symondson-Baxter said: “It’s a personal honour to have two of my artworks featured in the Re: Loaded exhibition at the Royal Armouries. I use decommissioned AK-47s from active war zones as a canvas to explore themes of conflict, violence and the fragility of the natural world.

“One is embellished with butterflies, and the other is covered with Love Heart sweets, with the messaging on the sweets changed to match the narrative of the artwork.

“The juxtaposition of the objects comes from my own experiences in a conflict zone, and I wanted to flip the meaning of the instantly recognisable AK-47 weapon, and turn it from a thing of brutality into a thing of beauty.”

The museum said the exhibition, which opens this weekend, is a new direction for the Royal Armouries as part of multi-million-pound plans to evolve under the new leadership of Mr Edwards.

More details about Re:Loaded can be found at https://royalarmouries.org/leeds/whats-on/reloaded.