Strange eBay full mask - Anyone care to venture a guess?

[artificer]

Stumbled upon THIS recently

The makers mark on the back declares it to be Morrison of Edinburgh.
Their version of which can be seen below


The eBay one appears to be either badly repaired (look at the top stitching in the pic of the rear of the sporran), or that a mask was badly applied to another sporran entirely.

The fur is bizarre also, it's either in dreadful need of a good cleaning, or is, in fact, a nappy old teddy bear. If real, I think another question arises, which is, WHAT is the fur from? My best guess from the shape of the head and ear-to-eye placement is Nutria, which then has the nose 'tucked' under, but I'm not a taxonomic expert, and would love to be corrected if I'm wrong. Anyone?

It seems that John Morrison Co. is now a division of Gold Brothers.

[Tartan Tess]

I saw the face you described first, then the more I looked at it, the more I see "No eyes where they should be and the taxidermy ones where the nostrils are" This is wierd and even weirder how my mind is seeing it.....

[artificer]

I saw the face you described first, then the more I looked at it, the more I see "No eyes where they should be and the taxidermy ones where the nostrils are" This is wierd and even weirder how my mind is seeing it.....

I think it's the minimal ears and forward placement of the eyes with no nose that's giving us both fits here.

In this image from Treehugger.com you can see the Nutria pelt flattened out
.

If you trim off the nose and re-taper the front into a new profile, I bet you'd get our 'mystery meat'.

[Dr Mac]

I know it's all personal preference, but however you look at it, someone else will be going home with it, not I.

[artificer]

I know it's all personal preference, but however you look at it, someone else will be going home with it, not I.

Ha! too true. I'm definitely not in the market for mystery meat sporrans. It's more of an exercise in head-scratching.

[Tartan Tess]

Does it have it's "hand" around her wrist ?

[davidlpope]

If real, I think another question arises, which is, WHAT is the fur from?

It's musquash (muskrat).

David

[creagdhubh]

Stumbled upon THIS recently

The makers mark on the back declares it to be Morrison of Edinburgh.
Their version of which can be seen below


The eBay one appears to be either badly repaired (look at the top stitching in the pic of the rear of the sporran), or that a mask was badly applied to another sporran entirely.

The fur is bizarre also, it's either in dreadful need of a good cleaning, or is, in fact, a nappy old teddy bear. If real, I think another question arises, which is, WHAT is the fur from? My best guess from the shape of the head and ear-to-eye placement is Nutria, which then has the nose 'tucked' under, but I'm not a taxonomic expert, and would love to be corrected if I'm wrong. Anyone?

It seems that John Morrison Co. is now a division of Gold Brothers.

Hiya mate,

It is a Morrison Sporran. It is made of muskrat and I think it looks fine. I have almost the exact same one, yet mine (see photos below) is made by L&M Highland Outfitters, Novia Scotia. The fur is not bizarre, it's muskrat, and it does not need to be cleaned. It appears to be the standard photo that Morrison sporrans put out for their muskrat version of the animal-mask sporran. Again, it is a good quality sporran, not as well done as Kate Macpherson sporrans in my honest opinion, yet very good quality and should last generations if taken care of.




Slainte,

[auld argonian]

I'd be thinkin' otter. Don't know if Nutria are indigenous to the Old World but otters certainly are.

Best

AA

[artificer]

Hiya mate,

It is a Morrison Sporran. It is made of muskrat and I think it looks fine. I have almost the exact same one, yet mine (see photos below) is made by L&M Highland Outfitters, Novia Scotia. The fur is not bizarre, it's muskrat, and it does not need to be cleaned. It appears to be the standard photo that Morrison sporrans put out for their muskrat version of the animal-mask sporran. Again, it is a good quality sporran, not as well done as Kate Macpherson sporrans in my honest opinion, yet very good quality and should last generations if taken care of.


Slainte,

I think you might have missed the original link in this thread. Please see HERE

The eBay one looks nothing like the original, which was part of my point. The Morrison one actually pictured in the thread (as eBay blocks photo links) was for reference and comparison, since the auction item is stamped Morrison.

The auction item in question bears little resemblance to either yours (which has a definable nose) or the Morrison sporran (which is much more vague, in the company image). Please check the auction photo and let me know if you think there's something wrong with it. I look forward to hearing your thoughts.