A Fine Art Collectible Limited Edition 3D Facsimile
ABOUT THE FACSIMILE
The Declaration of Arbroath
Hello, my name is Steven Patrick Sim, The Tartan Artisan® — an artist, tartan designer and maker born and raised in Arbroath.
I created the fine-art 3D facsimile of the Declaration of Arbroath as a three-dimensional interpretation of Scotland’s great letter of independence — drafted and sealed more than seven centuries ago, on the 6th of April 1320.
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In 2014, after witnessing the passionate mood of the nation during the run-up to the Scottish independence referendum, I created the original DECLARATION tartan.
The design was inspired by the Saltire, the Lion Rampant and the powerful visual language of Scotland at that moment in time — a tribute to Scotland’s ancient cry for independence.
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Since its official registration at the Scottish Register of Tartans, the design has become part of the wider story of my work as The Tartan Artisan — and it too was inspired by the Declaration of Arbroath.
Photograph by Drew Porch ©2017
Photograph by Drew Porch ©2017
The Declaration of Arbroath is Crown copyright, National Records of Scotland, SP13/7
Declaration tartan copyright - Steven Patrick Sim © 2014
THE DECLARATION 1320® . . .THE TARTAN
portraying the two flags of Scotland
INSPIRED! ...by a
monumental announcement!
Then, on the 5th of July 2016, the news hit the headlines.
The announcement was made that Scotland’s most treasured historical document — the Declaration of Arbroath — had been included in the UK Memory of the World Register, part of UNESCO’s wider Memory of the World programme.
Being an artist inspired not only by the legacy of my own home town, but also by Scotland’s ancient histories, I was deeply moved by that moment.
How could I mark this occasion?
Should I?
Could it be done?
The idea of a 3D facsimile of the Declaration of Arbroath was born.
An Archival Quality Reproduction
This detailed and lifelike reproduction was made possible with permission granted from the National Records of Scotland.
It is a limited-edition three-dimensional fine-art construct, produced using archival pigmented inks, fine-art papers and carefully assembled layered details.
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Printed with lightfast inks on heavy-weight acid-free fine-art paper, the facsimile was created to be a lasting art piece — something that could be displayed, appreciated and handed down.
The Declaration of Arbroath Fine-Art 3D Facsimile is produced and framed in Scotland.
The piece is presented in a substantial contemporary box frame, built with depth and internal space to protect and house the layered facsimile.
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The finished frame is installed with museum-quality glass, helping to filter harmful UV light and reduce reflections.
This allows light to fall across the facsimile, bringing out the depth, shadows, seals and textures that give the work its three-dimensional presence.
Crown copyright, National Records of Scotland, SP13/7
Printed in 7 colours of lightfast ink...
& celebrating more than seven centuries of Scotland’s
ongoing evolution, to greater freedoms
The famous quote embodied...
"for, as long as but a hundred of us remain alive, never will we on any conditions be brought under English rule. It is in truth not for glory, nor riches, nor honours that we are fighting, but for freedom – for that alone, which no honest man gives up but with life itself."
THE DECLARATION OF ARBROATH
AWARDED UK UNESCO ‘MEMORY OF THE WORLD’ STATUS
Tuesday, 5 Jul 2016
The 2016 Declaration of Arbroath 3D Facsimile limited editions were reproduced from photographic images of the surviving copy held by the National Records of Scotland.
The National Records of Scotland notes that the surviving version is the file copy. The original sent to the Pope has long been lost, and it cannot be known with certainty whether the format of the surviving copy is the same as the lost original.
The surviving copy has the deep fold at the bottom through which the seal tags were threaded. It is unusual in having many seals still attached. There are 39 names at the start of the document, including eight earls and thirty-one barons.
As it now survives, only 19 seals remain.