Civil unrest and religious tension between Scotland, England, and Ireland led to The Hanoverians succeeding the Stuarts as monarchs of Great Britain in 1714, forcing the remaining Stuart family to live in exile. A series of failed rebellions during the eighteenth century by Stuart supporters, known as ‘Jacobites’, led to support for the Jacobite cause being dangerous to express openly. Supporters created a coded visual language of symbols to demonstrate their allegiance while avoiding accusations of treason. This talk will explore the symbolism and making techniques of a series of Jacobite eighteenth-century drinking glasses, held in the collection of Glasgow Life Museums, usedto raise toasts to the exiled Stuart monarchs, serving as powerful symbols of rebellion and resistance.
Laura Bauld is a Senior Curator (Art & Design) at Glasgow Life Museums, with a subject specialist remit in Decorative Arts (1603-1850) including metalwork, glass, furniture, and ceramics.