Scottish Victorian 'Star of Snowdoun' Enamel & Pearl Purity Brooch 1859

For sale from W&W Antiques is a beautiful 'Star of Snowdoun' (Stirling) Purity Brooch, 1859. The brooch has a story of particular Scottish interest and an accompanying book on the Scottish Covenanters. This is a commemorative enamel & pearl brooch designed for the female members of the Drummond family at the unveiling of the marble Virgin Martyrs sculpture a landmark in The Valley Cemetery, Stirling beneath the castle. - A brooch designed to recognise the sacrifice of the three virgin martyrs of Wigtown, drowned in 1685 in the Solway for refusing to renounce covenanting beliefs. - The Victorian half pearl and enamel brooch, of crowned heart design, with a green enamel laurel wreath enclosing a half pearl set star motif, above a trio of blue enamel forget-me-not flowerheads, suspending a white enamel drop. - The reverse is inscribed 'Ladies Rock, Eph. Iii. 17-19, Phil. Iv. 7', in fitted case with 'Star Of Snowdoun, Zech. iv. 6; Luke xi. 9, 1859' to lining, also marked E.K. The brooch has a pin and also a loop for hanging from a necklace to the back of the crown. - Three versions from female members of the Drummond family are held in the Stirling Smith Art Gallery & Museum, Stirling* and is celebrated in a mural painted in recent years by June Carey over the entrance way to the museum (shown in the final image) which was designed to celebrate and protect the museum. - The commemorative brooches celebrated the inauguration of The Virgin Martyrs' memorial, the valley cemetery was created with money from the Drummonds who as successful seed merchants and agricultural machinery suppliers were benefactors to Stirling. - Funded by the Drummond family and sculpted by Alexander Handyside Ritchie, the memorial depicts white marble sculptures of two women covenanters, Margaret Wilson and Margaret McLaughlan, who were sentenced to death by drowning in the tidal waters of the Solway, for their faith, on 11 May 1685. A third girl, Margaret Wilson’s younger sister Agnes, was spared because of her age. - This brooch features a half pearl, to symbolise purity and the Christian name Margaret, three forget-me-nots, to commemorate the three women involved, and a laurel wreath to represent martyrdom, in tribute to those who died for their religious beliefs during this period in Scotland. At 162 years of age it is a fantastic large jewel with interesting Scottish provenance. Reference: * King, E. (2009) Old Stirling, Stenlake Publishing Ltd. Taken from New International Version (Niv), the biblical references are as follows; Ephesians 3:17-19 [17] so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, [18] may have power, together with all the Lord's holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, [19] and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Philippians 4:7 [7] And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Zechariah 4:6 [6] So he said to me, This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: 'Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,' says the Lord Almighty. Luke 11:9 [9] So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.