Kildonan Gold Cross, ca.1869
Title
Kildonan Gold Cross, ca.1869
Category
Jewellery and Silverware
Description
This is a cross brooch or pendant made from native Scottish gold, sourced in the Highlands during the gold rush of 1869, made and retailed by Glasgow jewellers D. C. Rait & Son. The cross is one of very few pieces which can be traced back to a short-lived but widely-reported gold rush in the county of Sutherland in 1869. An inscription on the back of the cross reads: ‘Scottish Gold, D. C. Rait & Sons’. The cross makes the most of the scarce native materials through its clever design. It was constructed from a number of panels of thin sheet gold soldered together to give the appearance of a solid piece. The cross shape with the ring around the intersection mimics ancient monuments on the Hebridean island of Iona – a popular motif during the Scottish-Celtic revival of the 1860s. Foliate decoration is engraved on the front: leaves grow down and across each panel around a central daisy, creating sparkle and light. Similar designs appeared in fashion magazines advising wealthy middle-class readers that the pendant should be worn suspended from a black velvet ribbon tied at the back of the neck.
D. C. Rait & Sons were a respected jewellery firm who operated in Glasgow in one form or another from the 1820s until well into the twentieth century. In 1869, the firm was listed as ‘Goldsmiths to the Queen, Jewellers, Watchmakers and Silversmiths’, and operated from a fancy showroom at 34 Buchanan Street on Glasgow’s main shopping promenade. The goods inside the shop were of such high value that the owners reputedly had the walls and roof lined with iron plates. In March 1869 The Inverness Courier reported that Rait & Sons had ‘been active purchasers of Sutherland gold from the commencement of the discovery, and have assayed several specimens officially’. It noted that ‘these have ranged from 19 to 19¾ carats. Mr Robert Gilchrist, the original discoverer, seems to have been very successful of late at the Kildonan burn, and has supplied Mr Rait with a considerable quantity of gold during the last few weeks.’
This cross shows how the firm used the gold to make fashionable designs that fused ideas of Scottish history with motifs drawn from the natural world, linking the native materials back to the landscapes in which they were sourced.
D. C. Rait & Sons were a respected jewellery firm who operated in Glasgow in one form or another from the 1820s until well into the twentieth century. In 1869, the firm was listed as ‘Goldsmiths to the Queen, Jewellers, Watchmakers and Silversmiths’, and operated from a fancy showroom at 34 Buchanan Street on Glasgow’s main shopping promenade. The goods inside the shop were of such high value that the owners reputedly had the walls and roof lined with iron plates. In March 1869 The Inverness Courier reported that Rait & Sons had ‘been active purchasers of Sutherland gold from the commencement of the discovery, and have assayed several specimens officially’. It noted that ‘these have ranged from 19 to 19¾ carats. Mr Robert Gilchrist, the original discoverer, seems to have been very successful of late at the Kildonan burn, and has supplied Mr Rait with a considerable quantity of gold during the last few weeks.’
This cross shows how the firm used the gold to make fashionable designs that fused ideas of Scottish history with motifs drawn from the natural world, linking the native materials back to the landscapes in which they were sourced.
Image copyright
R. L. Christie Works of Art, Edinburgh
Item Location
Private Collection
Files
Citation
“Kildonan Gold Cross, ca.1869,” Artisans in Scotland, accessed April 26, 2025, https://www.artisansinscotland.shca.ed.ac.uk/items/show/42.