‘Spectacular' treasures return to Orkney 318 years after being given to captain

Independent

30-01-2025

'Spectacular' treasures awarded to an Orcadian naval officer for his actions during an 18th century siege have returned to Orkney after his family gifted them to the islands.
Captain James Moodie, of Melsetter on Hoy, was presented with the items by Archduke Charles of Austria – the future Emperor Charles VI – in 1707, following the siege of Denia in Spain during the War of the Spanish Succession.
Capt Moodie's intervention in the 27-day siege resulted in the 9,000 French troops who were surrounding the city being forced back with heavy losses.
The collection – known as the Moodie treasures – includes three 'aesthetically stunning' Ottoman weapons: a scimitar (curved sword) and scabbard, a mace, and a dagger with sheath, all of which date from the 1660s.
It is thought the highly-decorated weapons were left behind in Austria and the Balkans by retreating Ottoman armies in the late 17th and early 18th centuries.
The collection also includes an autographed letter from the Archduke, commending Capt Moodie to British monarch Queen Anne for his actions in the Archduke's home city, and a portrait of the Orcadian believed to have been painted by Thomas Murray.
From almost giving up any hope of acquiring this collection, to now have welcomed specialist fine art movers carrying the artefacts here to Orkney is simply wondrous
Nick Hewitt, Orkney Islands Council
Following a naval career that spanned five decades during which he reached the rank of commodore, Capt Moodie retired to Melsetter House on Hoy.
It was there he became embroiled in a family feud with Sir James Stewart from Burray, whose Jacobite tendencies pitted him against the Hanoverian-supporting veteran.
At around 2pm on October 26, 1725 Capt Moodie was shot in the chest at close range on Broad Street in Kirkwall, while on his way to renew his appointment as justice of the peace.
It is thought he had ignored warnings the Stewarts were out for revenge for a punishment he had dispensed to a Stewart who had trespassed and shot wildfowl on his land.
The 80-year-old died from his wounds in the days after the attack.
The Moodie treasures were taken to South Africa when Benjamin Moodie emigrated there in 1817 after selling Melsetter, and after a spell back in the UK they ended up in South Africa with General Graham Moodie.
The return of the artefacts to Orkney comes after 'concerted efforts' by the council's museums team, which over the years has attempted to raise funds to buy the collection each time the family offered it for sale.
Then at the end of 2024 the family offered the collection as a donation, provided the cost of transporting the artefacts be covered.
Orkney Islands Council convener Graham Bevan said the whole community is 'profoundly grateful' for the donation.
'We're very fortunate that throughout the years the Moodie family have always maintained a strong commitment to keep the collection together, and for it to ultimately come to Orkney,' he said.
'Consistently faced with the choice of breaking the valuable collection up for sale on the open market or keeping it together and essentially gifting it to Orkney, the family has chosen the latter.
'The museum service – and in turn I'm sure the Orkney community – is profoundly grateful.
'Upon receiving the offer and against very tight deadlines, our museums team leapt into action and built a successful case to external funders to help with the costs of transporting this important collection back to Orkney – the result being people can expect to be able to view these items in all their splendour, at The Orkney Museum, by this summer.'
Nick Hewitt, culture team manager for the council, said it is 'thrilled' to be welcoming the artefacts back to Orkney.
'From almost giving up any hope of acquiring this collection, to now have welcomed specialist fine art movers carrying the artefacts here to Orkney is simply wondrous – we're still pinching ourselves,' he said.
'The intention is for the collection to be on display to the people of Orkney from May 2025 – following the necessary conservation assessments, careful mounting of the artefacts, and the production of a display worthy of this spectacular acquisition.'
The voyage home of the Moodie treasures has been made possible with financial support from the Robertson Ness Trust, the Museums Association Beecroft Bequest, the National Fund for Acquisitions, and the Orkney Heritage Society, along with support in kind from Northlink and the council's Marine Services.