Matthew Auchinleck or Matho Auchlek was a Scottish goldsmith who worked for
James VI of Scotland
James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until hi ...
and
Margaret Tudor
Margaret Tudor (28 November 1489 – 18 October 1541) was Queen of Scotland from 1503 until 1513 by marriage to King James IV. She then served as regent of Scotland during her son's minority, and successfully fought to extend her regency. Marg ...
.
Auchinleck, and his father "Matho Auchinlek" the elder, were put in charge of the mint by James IV and sent in their accounts in April 1507. John Auchlek, a relation, was also a goldsmith working for the court. Their business was in Stirling, and they set up a shop and workshop in Edinburgh called a "buith" in July 1503.
In 1508 Auchlek made a silver fitting for
distillation equipment used by the king's alchemist Alexander Ogilvy at
Stirling Castle
Stirling Castle, located in Stirling, is one of the largest and most important castles in Scotland, both historically and architecturally. The castle sits atop Castle Hill, an intrusive crag, which forms part of the Stirling Sill geological ...
. The piece was described in
Scots as a "bos hed to ane stellatour of silvir". The alchemists had a furnace at the castle and were trying to make the
fifth element known as "quinta essentia". Auchinleck supplied Ogilvy with materials including "burnt silver".
Auchlek routinely mended and gilded the king's silver tableware and armour, and made jugs, reliquaries, and candlesticks. He repaired the
king's crown in 1503 for the royal marriage and was involved in the work of the mint.
[Robert William Cochran-Patrick, ''Records of the Coinage of Scotland'', vol. 1 (Edinburgh, 1876), p. cxxxi.]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Auchinleck, Matthew
Court of James IV of Scotland
People from Stirling
Scottish goldsmiths
16th-century Scottish businesspeople