Jacobite tribute ring a reminder of troubled past

To an auctioneer in the faroff English cathedral city of Chichester for a rare reminder of Scotland’s troubled past – a gold, white enamel and citrine mourning ring of high Jacobite interest.

The ring’s shank was engraved “DR ARCHIBALD CAMERON OB. 7 JUNE 1753. AET 47” on a white enamel ground. Its shoulders were pierced with a symbolic thistle and white enamel rose, supporting a large, cushion-cut citrine.

Archibald Cameron was a dyed-in-the-wool Jacobite. His father – The Lochiel – had participated in the failed 1715 rising and the son rose to prominence in the attack on the English garrison at Ruthven Barracks in August 1745.

Cameron sustained minor wounds at the Battle of Falkirk the following January and later in the year fought at Culloden.

Fleeing to France, he remained in the service of Bonnie Prince Charlie before returning to Scotland in 1753 to plot

thecouriermagazine the assassination of George II.

Betrayed by the infamous spy “Pickle”, he was moved from Edinburgh Castle to the gallows on Tower Hill where, on June 7 1753, he became the last Jacobite to be hanged for high treason.

In his final papers, written from prison, he protested his undying loyalty to the Jacobite cause.

Those who recall the auctions of historic treasures from Fingask and Stobhall Castles in Perthshire will know the pull of Jacobite memorabilia and the multi-estimate bids that flow for items linked to Scotland’s royal claims.

And thus, the ring commemorating Archibald Cameron easily outstripped pre-sale hopes of £750£1,000 to take £5,400 at Henry Adams Auctions in Sussex.

Continuing the theme, Perth Museum and Art Gallery’s major upcoming exhibition, Jacobite Clans, will explore the story of warring families of a nation divided. It opens on June 22.