Jacobite Glass
West Highland Museum

This drinking glass engraved with Jacobite symbols. Drinking toasts to the exiled Stuart dynasty was an important part of Jacobite secret culture.   

Jacobites would often pass their glass over a water bowl to toast their ‘King across the water’. Another popular toast was to ‘the little gentleman in the black velvet waistcoat’. This was a reference to William of Orange’s horse tripping over a mole hill. The fall caused him to break his collar bone and he subsequently died.   

The Jacobite symbols engraved on this glass are typical. The six-pointed star represents royalty. A rose signifies James VIII (II of England, 1688 – 1766) and buds represent Prince Charles Edward (1720 – 1788) and his younger brother, Prince Henry Benedict (1725 – 1807).   

The motto “Fiat” translates as ‘Let it be’, meaning ‘let there be a Stuart restoration to the throne’.