Ben Nevis: A Farewell Commission

This commission involved two whisky glasses engraved with a design of Ben Nevis, prepared as a formal farewell gift.

The pieces were presented to the Slovak Ambassador at the end of his diplomatic posting.

Reference and Context

The choice of Ben Nevis carried a specific reference.

During the Second World War, Czechoslovak special forces personnel trained in the Arisaig area as part of Special Operations Executive preparation for operations in occupied Europe. Memorials in and around Arisaig still record that connection.

Ben Nevis therefore provided more than a Scottish landscape reference. It connected the farewell gift to a documented shared history between Scotland and Czechoslovakia.

Preparation and Engraving

The mountain profile was prepared as a clean, balanced composition suited to the scale of a whisky glass.

Linework was refined for clarity, with attention given to how the mountain form would read when viewed through the glass.

Once the Engraving Layout was approved, the mountain artwork was prepared for stencil production and sandblasted onto both glasses.

Outcome

The finished glasses present a restrained interpretation of the landscape, prepared for formal presentation.

A single landmark was used to mark the farewell, chosen for both its landscape and the historical connection it represented.