Treasures gifted to Orcadian naval officer Captain James Moodie returned to Orkney after 300 years

Centuries-old weapons owned by Orcadian naval officer Captain James Moodie have been gifted to the people of Orkney by his family. 

Three stunning Ottoman weapons – a scimitar (sword/sabre) and scabbard, a mace, and a dagger and sheath – all date from the 1600s and were a diplomatic gift to Captain Moodie, of Melsetter in Hoy, by Archduke Charles of Austria in 1707.

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.

An autographed letter from the Archduke commending Capt. Moodie to Queen Anne for his actions during the siege on the Archduke’s home city Denia, is also in the collection.

Completing the haul is a portrait of Captain Moodie – by family tradition attributed to Sir Godfrey Kneller but now thought to be possibly by Thomas Murray, c.1715-20.

In family ownership since 1707, the items moved to South Africa when Benjamin Moodie emigrated there in 1817, after selling Melsetter. 

They then went back to the UK with Colonel George Pigot-Moodie of the Scots Greys, then to Rhodesia with him to return to South Africa to General Graham Moodie.

Now, more than 300 years after they were presented to Capt. Moodie, they have returned to Orkney as part of a wider collection known as ‘The Moodie Treasures’ which were valued at around £225,000 several years ago.

Described by researchers as ‘without parallel’ in any British museum, the artefacts portray the achievements of a local Orkney family at the centre of pivotal moments in British and European history at a time of the British Empire.

‘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,’ said Convener of Orkney Islands Council, Graham Bevan.

‘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.’

To date there has only been a pair of spectacles Moodie had on his person at the time of his attack in Kirkwall on display in The Orkney Museum, in the Earldom Gallery.

‘We’re all absolutely thrilled to be in this position,’ said  Nick Hewitt, Culture Team Manager for the Council.

‘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.

‘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 history

Moodie was an accomplished and enigmatic Orcadian who gained recognition in Europe as a Commodore in the Royal Navy, as empires and ideologies clashed.

His naval career spanned more than five decades and was forged against the backdrop of power struggles throughout Europe – including a growing Christian alliance throughout Europe, a declining Ottoman empire, and tensions between Catholic and Protestant monarchs and peoples.

In June 1707 and during the War of the Spanish Succession Capt. Moodie supported a small garrison against 9,000 French troops who had besieged Dénia. 

At Moodie’s intervention the attackers were forced back, suffering huge losses. The siege broke after 27 days – earning Capt. Moodie the letter of commendation to Queen Anne which forms part of the Moodie Treasures.

Moodie brought that fighting spirit and stubbornness to his home ground – Melsetter House in Hoy. 

In the Royal Navy supporting the Hanoverian Monarch he become embroiled in a family feud with Sir James Stewart from Burray, whose Jacobite tendencies pitted him against the now retired and elderly Captain.

Around 2pm in the afternoon of 26 October 1725, outside Baillie Fea’s house in Broad St in Kirkwall, Captain Moodie was shot in the chest at close range.

He was on his way to renew his appointment as Justice of the Peace – against the advice of many who knew the Stewarts were out for revenge, for punishment Moodie had dispensed to a Stewart who had trespassed and shot wildfowl on his land.

Eighteen witnesses concurred that Sir James Stewart had commanded Moodie be fired upon, with the words, ‘The Hanoverian dog still stands.’ No-one was detained or brought to court for the attack.

Moodie passed away days later from his wounds, aged 80.

The return to Orkney of The Moodie Treasures is the result of a concerted efforts over many years by the Council’s Museums team to secure the artefacts on behalf of the county.

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