A story from Glamis has weaved into V&A Dundee’s Tartan Exhibition
A story from Glamis has weaved into V&A Dundee’s Tartan Exhibition.
Just twelve miles down the road from our historic castle, is the city of Dundee. An iconic hub of creativity, it is home to the wonderful, ultra-modern V&A Dundee, Scotland’s first design museum.
These past few weeks has seen the launch of V&A Dundee’s latest exhibition, a vibrant, dazzling and absorbing celebration of our nation’s very own textile, tartan.
As part of the Tartan exhibition, the team at Glamis Castle have been collaborating with the museum to share some local tartan stories that can be celebrated on an international design stage.
Our Archivist, Ingrid Thomson, has been key to this collaboration, presenting James Wylie, one of the exhibition’s curators, with options on rare tartans from Glamis.
Initially, James selected the Royal Company of Archers’ jacket, c.1715 (the Sovereign’s Bodyguard in Scotland) for display in the exhibition, but although it is in remarkably good condition for a garment over 300 years old, it was subsequently decided that hanging it on a mannequin could potentially cause damage. The jacket was therefore returned to Glamis (where it is now displayed flat in the Family Exhibition Room), but a lovely photograph of it is included in the Tartan exhibition. Another item from Glamis, the mid-18th century piece of Prince Charles Edward Stuart tartan, is installed at the Tartan exhibition, in the Wilsons of Bannockburn case. This piece of tartan is believed to have been connected to or presented by either the Jacobite King James VIII and III, known by his enemies as the ‘Old Pretender’, or his son Prince Charles Edward Stuart.
The item is a large portion of Prince Charles Edward tartan which is a more compact version of the more commonly seen Royal Stewart tartan. King James VIII and III visited Glamis Castle in January 1716, just a few months after John, 5th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne, an ardent Jacobite, was killed at the Battle of Sheriffmuir in 1715.
Ingrid and Nicky Wilson, one of the castle guides, attended the official launch of the Tartan exhibition at the V&A Dundee on Thursday 30th March 2023, where they thoroughly enjoyed exploring the exhibition which has celebrated how tartan has had a global impact. They also met a few familiar faces including Judy Murray.
“While this is a celebration of tartan’s worldwide connections, it is exciting that Glamis Castle was able to contribute such a significant tartan, believed to be the oldest specimen of Prince Charles Edward Stuart tartan in existence,” says Ingrid. “The exhibition has been creatively and thoughtfully curated and is well worth a visit. We look forward to collaborating with the V&A Dundee again in the future.”
For more information about visiting the Tartan exhibition, go to https://www.vam.ac.uk/dundee/whatson/exhibitions/tartan
