The jewels Mary Queen of Scots left behind

Jewellery and gem-set objects have always been considered an indicator of wealth. As portraits were often a projection of self-promotion, it is not surprising that sitters would wear and thus display their finest jewels when being painted. The two double portraits examined in this article, depicting King James V of Scotland and his second wife Marie of Guise, were probably commissioned to commemorate their wedding day in 1538, as suggested by the composition and the quality of dress.

A study of the relationship between the construction of femininity and the ownership of jewellery in the 18thc.

Sartorial Politics in Early Modern Europe: Fashioning Women, 2019

This chapter discusses the ways in which figurative pieces of jewellery could function as statements of identity, allegiance, and belonging for early modern royal women. Focussing on the example of Anna of Denmark (1574-1619), queen consort of King James VI and I (1566-1625), it examines extant jewellery accounts and portraits to establish patterns in her patronage and modes of representation. In so doing, it extends our understanding of the type and frequency of Anna’s jewellery purchases; arguing that she strategically used her bodily display to visualise her dynastic identity and her support for a Stuart-Habsburg marriage alliance. The possibility that this was a practice learnt at her natal court in Denmark is addressed, along with the role that jewellery played for the Stuart queen consort in the highly politicised world of gift-exchange.

The theft of the Irish Crown Jewels by a person or persons unknown in 1907 is one of the most famous and puzzling mysteries of Irish history, and has been the subject of numerous books and articles, as well as several television programmes. The Jewels were worn during functions of the Order of St Patrick and were entrusted to the care of Ulster King of Arms, Ireland’s chief herald and genealogist. Many and various are the theories which have been advanced over the years to explain what happened to the Jewels, with allegations that they were stolen by insiders, or by Unionist conspirators eager to derail Home Rule, or by Republican plotters seeking to embarrass the British government. The present report re-examines the affair and comes to some tentative conclusions as to what may have happened, naming two insiders as the prime suspect and suspect number two respectively.

2015

the past few years have seen a remarkable surge in the discovery of coin hoards of the Edwardian period in Scotland, i.e. those terminating with coins of Edward I, II or III, or (in the case of Auchenbart) contemporary continental issues. Nine of these are published here, whilst two other, very small, hoards are listed only in the Coin Hoards round-up in this volume (Laurieston, Dumfries and Galloway, and Redgorton, Perthshire) (see p. 299). Some discussion of the various hoards is included at the end of the paper.

2019

This chapter discusses how figurative pieces of jewellery could function as statements of identity, allegiance, and belonging for early modern royal women. Focussing on Anna of Denmark (1574-1619), it examines extant jewellery accounts and portraits to establish patterns in her patronage and modes of representation. It thus extends our understanding of the type and frequency of Anna's jewellery purchases, arguing that she strategically used her bodily display to visualise her dynastic identity and her support for a Stuart-Habsburg marriage alliance. The possibility that this was a practice learnt at her natal court in Denmark is addressed, along with the role that jewellery played for the Stuart queen consort in the highly politicised world of gift exchange.

The Court Historian, 2019

Based on untapped archival material in the National Archives (London) and the National Records of Scotland (Edinburgh), and supplemented by a new analysis of the portraits of Anna of Denmark, this article provides information about the fabrics, fashions and costs of clothing worn by the consort of James VI during her early years in Scotland. It sheds light on the Queen’s trousseau, her strategic use of clothing to demonstrate territorial, political and/or factional allegiance, and the artificers involved in the construction of the royal wardrobe. Providing details of the Stuarts’ high level of expenditure on clothing, this article highlights the political currency of the Queen’s sartorial display, and it contributes to our growing understanding of clothing at the Scottish court at the turn of the seventeenth century.

A summary of research on sources of gold in early medieval Ireland and Scotland, evidence for refining, alloying or assaying, evidence of gold workshops and of soldering techniques of Insular gold filigree.

A study of coins (both local and foreign) in late Medieval and Early Modern scotland, and of Scottish coins used abroad in the same period.

‘The Mystery of the Fettercairn Jewel’, in Anna Groundwater (ed.), Decoding the Jewels: Renaissance Jewellery in Scotland, NMS/Sidestone Press, 2024, 2024

This essay presents for the first time the Fettercairn Jewel, a previously unknown late 16th-century jewel discovered at Fettercairn House in 2018, and acquired by National Museums Scotland. The essay explores the provenance, iconography and cultural context for the jewel, and the nature of the now lost portrait it once contained, and assesses various possibilities for its place of manufacture.