A BRONZE JACOBITE 'BRAVADO' MEDALLION
DATED 1749
£438
Scottish Silver & Applied Arts
Auction: 14 August 2019 at 11:00 BST
Description
obverse, a standing figure of a Highlander, the targe with motto within QUIS CONTENDAT MECUM (Who can contend with me) and raised sword, motto NULLUM NON MOVEBO LAPIDEM UT ILLUD ADIPISCAR 1749 (I will leave no stone unmoved to obtain that, 1749), the reverse with open displayed Jacobite rose head, legend around MEA.RES.AGITUR (My affairs are at issue)
Dimensions
31mm across, 16.4g
Footnote
Literature: 'The Medallic Record of the Jacobite Movement', N Woolf, item 61:1a
'British Commemorative Medals, and their values', C Eimer, item 624
Note: Perhaps one of the most commonly encountered Jacobite medallions, it shows the strength and support Charles Edward was gaining. No two symbols can show greater connection and power to the cause than the fighting Highlander in full dress or the Jacobite rose so commonly encountered in all aspects of Jacobite art. The mottos and legends offer little disguise in the support of the Stuarts and are an open display of force towards the Hanoverians. Unlike many medallions which show a gentle or political side to propaganda this is a defiant show of force, giving rise to this medallion being called the Bravado medallion.
The maker, although unrecorded, is possibly connected to the Capture of Edinburgh medallion as there are many similarities in the engraving of the Highlander and the lettering to the legends. This connection assumes that this medallion was locally produced in Scotland for distribution around followers and supports still loyal after the failure of the uprising.
Mass produced and widely issued, there are two variations of dies used for this medal and it appears to have been produced in silver, bronze and gilded bronze over a number of years as striking and die quality varies.