Description
A Jacobite Sympathy Engraved Opaque Twist Wine Glass c.1760.
This is the fourth and final example of this glass that we have remaining
Please read the condition report at the bottom of this description.
It has an Ogee Bowl above a Double Series Opaque Twist Stem consisting of a multi ply spiral band outside a pair of spiral threads and sits on a conical foot with a snapped pontil. English lead. no chips cracks or restoration. it measures 6 inches tall with a 2 inch bowl and 2 3/4 inch foot.
The bowl has a very detailed single Carnation engraved on the front and is entwined with a Pair of Scottish Thistle leaves. Honeysuckle and it has a Bee on the reverse side of the bowl.
We have over the years very occasionally come across an engraved carnation glass and also read about their potential Jacobite significance. however it’s all very sparse and as such on seeing this particular example we decided it was time to research further…
Carnations and the Jacobite cause
All collectors of Jacobite glass will be familiar with engraved Tudor or Stuart roses. Fewer are aware of the significance of Carnations. We don’t know precisely when this association between Carnations and the Jacobites was first made however there are some historical pointers.
Bonnie Prince Charlie was born on 31st December 1720. The following January was unseasonably warm and the Jacobite Times records…
“The year 1721 began with a burst of spring which terrified nervous people. ‘ Strange and ominous.’ was the comment on the suburban fields full of flowers. and on the peas and beans in full bloom at Peterborough House. Milbank. When the carnations budded in January. there was ‘ general amazement ‘ even among people who cut coarse jokes on the suicides. which attended the bursting of the South Sea bubble. The papers were quite funny. too. at the devastation. which an outbreak of smallpox was making among the young beauties of aristocratic families. The disease had silenced the scandal at tea tables. by carrying off the guests. and poor epigrams were made upon them. Dying. dead. or ruined. everyone was laughed at.”
1720 was the low point for the Jacobite cause. A small combined Spanish and Highlander force had been defeated at the battle of Glenshiel the previous summer and it was fully four years since Prince James had set sail from Montrose following the 1715 uprising. James 111 was in his papal palace at the Piazza dei Santi Apostili and was consuming the funds of supporters. The very early budding of Carnations was a “sign”.
Carnations had been associated with “the cause” for quite some time. One of the earliest references we have found is from the first decade of the century.
In the first picture attached. you will see a portrait of Princess Louise the princess royal or “Princess over the water” (youngest daughter of King James II and VII) which was painted about 1704.
The Scottish National Portrait Gallery owns this painting. In this. Louise wears a gold brocade dress with a white and a red carnation. In her hair are diamonds and further prominent red carnations. Why so much rouge and prominently painted lips on white skin? Was this simply fashion? You have to remember that this was painted at a time when a message and hidden meaning was intended in the way a lady held her fan alone and Red and White were the colours of the Stuart battle standard…could this be a mere coincidence?
There are numerous references in the chronicles and literature to later Jacobite parades being lead by “crosses of carnations” where the tomb of both pretenders were strewn with carnations each year as late as 1898. But why carnations?
I have recently come across a new book on the Jacobites which was written by a Professor Murray Pittock who hails from Scotland.
It’s called –
From material culture and Sedition 1688-1760. Treacherous objects. secret places – Murray GH Pittock and Jacobitism (British History in Perspective)
So I decided to contact Professor Pittock at the University of Glasgow. His email is below.
Sent: Thu. 23 Jan 2014 11:39
Subject: Re: Red Carnations & The Jacobite Cause
Dear Alex.
‘Carnation’ was used for ‘coronation’. As virtually all risk of prosecution arose from language. references deriving from Latin. off rhymes. symbols or puns were used extensively to circumvent the law. The colour white was used-usually via roses- as a sign of the House of Bourbon and of the Dukes of York (white rose) and Albany (white land. code for Scotland in Charles I’s court masques and praise poetry). The Stuart battle standard-certainly in 1745- was red and white. Red symbolized high status. being the first among colours. the first of the spectrum. It was in such a context the colour of the king; used by supporters of the Crown and the legitimate succession in the Exclusion Crisis. Also used together with green. symbolic of fertility and love: ‘The man that should our king hae been. /He wore the royal red and green’ (‘Welcome. Royal Charlie’).
Hope this helps
Best wishes.
Murray
Professor Murray Pittock D. Litt. FEA FRHistS FRSA FRSE
Vice-Principal & Head of the College of Arts
6 University Gardens.
University of Glasgow G12 8QH
Scotland.
Bees symbolise fertility and resurrection to new life out of decay. as they were believed to be produced from decaying animals. – see page 143 Material culture and sedition. So with the Jacobite credentials of Carnations firmly established from the leading international authority we are left to determine the significance of the remaining engraving.
Via Natural England I established a contact with the Botanical society of the British Isles and simply requested that they identify the two leaf engraved types without any further explanation. Here is the response –
Dear Alex.
The leaves on the fronds are smooth and uninterrupted by teeth or lobes. this is referred to as being “entire” and they are supported by small petioles. or stalks if you prefer from the main stem. This is clearly intentional.
They are also held in opposite pairs along the stem. This combination is only found in two genus of wild plant found in the UK with the following varieties. Clematis vitalba (Old man’s Beard/ Travellers Joy). Lonicera periclymenum (Common Honeysuckle)
Lonicera caprifolium (Perfoliate Honeysuckle) and the scarce Lonicera xylosteum (fly honeysuckle).
Alex had the engraver intended for this to be Old Mans beard then he would surely have made the leaves more acute at the tip. “mucronate” to us botanists and this would have been easily done. Therefore without doubt the engraver has intended for this to be interpreted as honeysuckle.
The larger leaves are of the carduus or Onopordum genus. The deeply lobed leaves with defined spines and their being relatively broad rather then elongated would have me favour Onopordum Acanthium. the Cotton or Scottish thistle.
Regards
So in conclusion with all the evidence in place I can propose the following hypothesis: Honeysuckle was long used as a symbol of loyalty. Carnation can mean Coronation Carnation can also give us the letter ‘C’. Honeysuckle gives us the letter ‘H’ . Scottish thistle can give us the letters ‘ST’
Thus one interpretation of the cipher could be
“Coronation Charles Stuart”
The above represents our interpretation of the engravings on glass. It can perhaps be interpreted differently. which is all part of the intrigue surrounding such glasses. I have heard many more complex explainations of other glasses over the years.
My apologies if this is a long description…but it is hopefully interesting.
Condition Report –
The glass has a pin prick on the underside of the foot rim which is no more than part of the wear to the glass over the last 250+ years. It is tiny and I have shown the full foot below…the pin prick is at 12 o’clock just in case you cant see it (I’ve then shown it with a macro lens in the next picture). This is the fourth example of this glass. the others all selling for £875. Does this pin prick effect the value in any way? In my opinion. something so small and on the wear line…absolutely not. neither in value or looks and if you had to pick the glass up in your hands you would Im sure agree. However I am also sure that there are those who would disagree and therefore I have discounted the glass down to £700. If you wish to have this polished out then please let me know. the choice is yours.
DISCOUNTED TO £500 FOR EASTER SALE – ONE WEEK ONLY
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