A Jacobite interest silver medal depicting the bust 9 year old James Prince of Wales,

clad in an armor, looking left, with long hair,

below IAC: WALLIAE PRINCEPS;

the reverse with six tiny owls over a radiant rising sun

and a single ship on a tranquil sea below

SOLA. LUCE. FVGAT, (He has Flown by the Only Light)

and 1699; initialed N.R.

Good very fine; deep steely toning.

The birth of Prince James had precipitated the overthrow of his father King James II,
the last Stuart King (followed by Queen Anne who died childless).

This medal was struck for presentation to the adherents of the King and Prince,

who visited them in their exile under the protection of Louis XIV, "The Sun King" (France).

The allegory is that the Prince has flown, but will return just as the sun will rise again -

thus the emblem of the sun may be said to be dispelling the storm clouds

obscuring James's prospect of continuing the Stuart line on the British throne -

making everything serene and calm again.

The initials N. R. are those of medalist Norbert Roettier.

Norbert and his father John, who was also an engraver worked in the Tower mint

in the beginning and middle of 1690's when the elder Roettier was suspected by treasonable practices.

Illustrated : Material Culture of the Jacobites, Neil Guthrie, p. 72 (see below);

Also "Works of Art From the Drambuie Collection", no.58;

Provenance: Bt. D. Fearon, January, 2011. (MI 204/ 519; Eim. 381; Woolf 15:1)

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#7435