Loyal Exchange: the material and visual culture of Jacobite exile, c.1716 - c.1760

Abstract

• ‘Exile’ was fundamental to shaping the experience of Jacobitism – loyalty to the Stuart dynasty – during the eighteenth century. This talk considers how the Stuarts and their supporters used material and visual culture to negotiate exile and absence. Expanding on the work of Edward Corp, it explores the physical presence of the court of James VIII in Rome and how he and his family navigated the reality of their existence as exiled monarch. As a counterpart, this talk will also address the ways in which Jacobites, in dialogue with the Stuarts, used material and visual to connect with their preferred royal family. Objects were central to a network of exchange which sustained feelings of loyalty. Overall, it will be shown that material culture was central to overcoming both physical and intellectual exile by the Stuarts and their supporters during the eighteenth century.