Throughout the Society’s history, Fellows with antiquarian interests in the past collected books, documents and objects relating to a royal power and pageantry in Great Britain and abroad. Iconic symbols of monarchy – the enthroned monarch wearing a jewelled crown and holding an orb and sceptre – date back over a thousand years but are instantly recognisable to us today.
This exhibition brings together rarely seen objects, books, and manuscripts from the Society’s collections to explore the religious beliefs and political motivations behind ceremonial displays of power; how images and objects such as seals are used to disseminate power; and how power has been contested and fought over during key periods of British history.
In the 18th-century the Society reproduced and published accurate copies of many images of royal power. Today collecting focus and scholarly interest has shifted away from royalty to more marginalised and less well documented voices, bringing the stories of everyday people to the fore.