Lot 35: Prince Charles Edward Stuart (1720-1788), wearing suit of armour over white chemise, stock and cravat, blue sash and breast star of the Order of the Garter, his crimson mantle draped about him, his powdered wig wornen queueand tied with ribbon

Prince Charles Edward Stuart (1720-1788), wearing suit of armour over white chemise, stock and cravat, blue sash and breast star of the Order of the Garter, his crimson mantle draped about him, his powdered wig worn en queue and tied with ribbon. Enamel, gilt-metal mount. Oval, 58mm (2 5/16in) high

The present lot derives from a pastel by Maurice Quentin de la Tour which is held by the Scottish National Portrait Gallery (see E. Corp, The King Over The Water, 2001, p.98, ill.p.97,fig.92). Prince Charles Edward Louis John Casimir Sylvester Severino Maria Stuart was the first-born son of Prince James Francis Edward Stuart and Maria Clementina Sobieska. As a great-grandson of Charles I, 'Bonnie Prince Charlie' was born a claimant to the English and Scottish thrones and raised the Jacobite rebellion of 1745. The uprising failed in its aims to overthrow the Hanovarians and terminated with Princes Charles' defeat at the Battle of Culloden. Despite his marriage to a European Princess in 1772, his hopes for diplomatic support and the production of a legitimate heir were dashed. Prince Charles lived out the remainder of his life in exile and is buried in the Vatican next to his brother, mother and father.