What is it?

This is another iconic object from the National Museums Scotland collection, the travelling canteen – or luxury ‘picnic set’ – of Prince Charles Edward Stuart.

It neatly contained 31 items of dining equipment, including two cups, items of cutlery, a cruet set and a corkscrew cum nutmeg grater.

Who made it?

It was made by an established Edinburgh silversmith, Ebeneezer Oliphant. The Oliphant family were ardent Jacobite supporters and we saw Margaret Oliphant’s ball gown, which was said to have been worn at Prince Charles’s court at the Palace of Holyroodhouse, earlier this week.

Why is it important?

This object is not only beautifully made, it is extremely seditious, as the inscriptions are treasonous to the Hanoverian dynasty. It bears the Prince of Wales’s feathers (suggesting that Charles Edward is the rightful heir) together with the Scottish Order of the Thistle.

The prince brought this precious object with him, from Rome through France and across Britain during the 1745 campaign. After the battle, it was found abandoned on Culloden field.

In this short film David Forsyth, Principal Curator, National Museums Scotland explains more about the silver canteen – and why it is such a significant Jacobite object.