The Oliphants had been key supporters of the Stuart claim and had been vocal opposition to the Act of Union in 1707. They had been with King James in the uprising of 1715 and played an active role in support, funding and propaganda for the ’45.
The 10th Lord escaped after Culloden to Sweden and latterly lived in France. He bought his amnesty in 1763 and returned to Scotland but did not stop his staunch and open Jacobite support.
Ebenezer Oliphant is perhaps the best known of the family, within a very small group of true Jacobite Goldsmiths in Scotland. Whilst various craftsmen are termed Jacobite, few showed such strong allegiance as Oliphant. His views are clearly seen during his time as a member of the Incorporation of Goldsmiths when he refused (with a small group of others) to take the traditional oath to the King.
Oliphant was from the staunch Jacobite family of Oliphant of Gask whose support for the cause was without doubt. A relationship and belief shown so iconically in the commission by Gask and Ebenezer Oliphant in the production of the Four Peers Ring.
Ebenezer Oliphant was apprentice to James Mitchelson of Edinburgh in 1727 and worked successfully in the city until he retired in 1766. His work is characterised by uniform high quality with a real flare for fine chasing. At the peak of his career in the mid 18th century in Edinburgh's 'Golden Age' of silversmithing he was amongst the most respected and successful makers.
The culmination of his success as a maker, quality of chasing and support for the Jacobite cause can be so clearly seen in the fine silver and gilt travelling canteen presented to Prince Charles Edward Stuart on his 21st birthday, now in the National Museum collection
