Wright, at 49 only just within a strict age limit, won the award for his wall paintings and designs, and particularly his gold-leaf design at the Tate Britain in London, an art work traditionally made in “Medieval fashion”.

Wright, one of two Scots on the shortlist, said he was lost for words. “This is shocking, but very good news,” he said. “I have nothing else good to say: just, thank you.”

His triumph marks yet another success for Scottish artists on the international stage of contemporary art.

Wright, who moved to Scotland from London at a young age, will now move onto his next big project -- to permanently design wall paintings for the great staircases of the Dean Gallery in Edinburgh.

Last night, Philip Long, senior curator at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, said: “I have long been an admirer of his work, and it is good to see him being finally acknowledged. He is a very worthy winner, the sheer beauty of his work, particularly the gold frieze, is breathtaking.”

Wright’s art, more often small in scale, tends to be ephemeral -- his wall paintings are almost always painted over again.

Three Scottish-based artists have won the Turner Prize previously, Douglas Gordon in 1996, Martin Creed in 2001 and, in 2005, Simon Starling, who trained in and lives in Glasgow, and represented Scotland at the Venice Biennale. In a year in which the often controversial prize took on a noticeably more restrained air, Wright and Lucy Skaer who are both based in Glasgow and trained at the Glasgow School of Art, were the Scots in the running.

Ms Skaer, 34, the only female contender on the list, was nominated for the award for her solo exhibition at the Fruitmarket Gallery in Edinburgh and a show in Basel, Switzerland.

Wright only just qualified for the Turner Prize, which rewards artists active in Britain and under the age of 50.

Jury member Jonathan Jones said his is the work of “the thinking person’s graffiti artist”. His images draw comparisons with the pattern designs of Islamic art, and display a fascination with geometry and maths.

Wright was nominated for his exhibits in the 55th Carnegie International, in Pittsburgh, and his recent exhibition at the Ingleby Gallery in Edinburgh.

The annual prize, in its 25th year, has earned a reputation as a provocative contest but this year the four nominated artists were short on “shock value”.

The other two nominees were Roger Hiorns and Enrico David.

Hiorns is best known for his 2008 exhibition, Seizure, in which he filled a derelict apartment in an abandoned 1960s London housing block with liquid copper sulphate which gradually encrusted every surface with bright blue crystals.

The prize, established in 1984, is awarded to a British artist for an outstanding exhibition or other presentation of their work.