

Fiona Smith
Mary, 2025 30 x 23 cm Oil on Board AUD 1,400Mary, Queen of Scots, is represented here by the merlin falcon—a bird she is known to have taken hunting. The bird is perched on an umbrella, patterned in her royal tartan, and set against a piece of upholstery fabric I found in Paris, referencing her mother’s French heritage.
The background pattern is inspired by a silver casket Mary brought back to Scotland from France after the death of her first husband, King Francis II. This casket is one of Scotland’s most valuable historical artifacts. Believed to be the only surviving example of its kind—crafted by French artisans—others were melted down to fund war efforts in France. This one was preserved because Mary took it with her.
Sadly, it later played a part in her downfall. During her imprisonment in England by her cousin, Elizabeth I, the casket was sent to England. It contained letters—now thought by many to have been forged—that implicated Mary in the murder of her second husband, Lord Darnley and sealed her fate. Mary was beheaded in 1567.