Full mask sporrans revisited...

[creagdhubh]

Leather could also be connected to animal cruelty, at least as much as fur, and very few people have problems with leather.

By the way, I voted resolutely FOR full mask sporrans and am actually in the process of ordering one from Kate MacPherson.

Well done! You'll absolutely love Kate's work, mate!

[creagdhubh]

Exactly, Nathan.

There are plenty of sources around but, in my not so humble opinion, Kate's are amongst the best (if not the best) available. The two things that pushed me to buy from Kate were evidently the workmanship and her ethical announcement where she says that "All the skins used for making my sporrans are ethically sourced, and are either left over from the game and farming industries, road kill, or have died a natural death or are reused materials from old stoles and bags."

Of course the "reasonable" price one needs to pay for a heirloom sporran will certainly push me to wear it as often as possible so I reckon that I'm on a winner.

Precisely! Well said.

[creagdhubh]

I have two full mask sporrans: one is an otter, the other a badger ( currently on "loan" to my brother who alas, seldom wears the kilt these days! I wear the otter sporran frequently, both for day dress and evening dress.Attachment 19193Attachment 19194Attachment 19195

Very smart as usual, Sandy!

[creagdhubh]

Have the same sporran Ken and my sentiments about wearing it, echo yours. Cheers

I used to own the same sporran from L&M, yet sold it off some time ago.

[creagdhubh]

Very interesting, the make of pipes the piper is playing...

The first piper (hidden from view a wee bit) is Jerome Leroy-Lewis, Cluny's son-in-law, and the second piper featured in the majority of the photo is my good mate, Donald Mackintosh. Both are exceptional pipers and always play at the annual Clan Macpherson Gathering and Rally in Badenoch.

Here's another shot of the pipes:

[creagdhubh]

Interesting thread. I have not voted because, like others, neither option quite fits what I feel about full mask sporrans.

When I was a boy in the 50's and 60's, I seriously craved a full mask Otter sporran. Back then, to me it was the pinnacle of Highland attire. However, for a range of reasons, I never managed to actually get one. As the years wore on, thanks in part to Gavin Maxwell's Ring of Bright Water, I came to adopt the Otter as my Spirit Animal to the point that I wished to return as an Otter in my next life, if such things are possible. I became "Otter Mad" which inevitably led me to my love of Sea Kayaking; the deepest, closest, most spiritually Zen experience I can have as a non-otter. (Scuba Diving involves too much technology, equipment and noise for my tastes.) Once the Otter had achieved such an elevated position in my personal totem pole, I could never bring myself to honour it by wearing one as a sporran, regardless of however ethically that may have been achieved.

In principle, I am not ethically against full mask sporrans, as long as they are humanely and responsibly sourced. It is also important to me that they are well made, tasteful, proportionate and aesthetically pleasing. I do not think that they are fashionably passe here in Scotland. I might wear one, if the right one came along, but never an Otter, and never a Scottish Wildcat. With the greatest respect to the MacPherson's, the Wildcat is seriously teetering on the edge of extinction and I simply could not wear one. Elusive as the living Scottish Wildcat is, I was fortunate to have been able to actually see one in the wild back in the 90's and it was a deeply moving experience. I would hate to see them disappear.

On a side note, my daughter lives a few blocks away from Kinloch Anderson's HQ/Showrooms in Leith. I will make a point of dropping in when I am next in town in July to pick up the book. It will also be interesting to see if they have any full mask sporrans for sale. (My guess is they will.) I will also ask about their position in the book on the issue. I'll provide a full report of the visit, with photos.

Thank you, Nathan - for an interesting and thought provoking thread. Well done.

Well said, John. In regards to the Scottish Wildcat sporrans featured in the photos I posted, they are all very old sporrans (late 19th to early 20th century) that have been passed down through the generations. The Clan Macpherson Association in partnership with the Highland Wildlife Park in Kingussie, Inverness-shire, go to considerable lengths to help aid in the conservation, preservation and protection of the elusive, "Highland Tiger." They are very special animals that have definitely had a tough go for many years, but due to the efforts of many hard-working, wonderful environmental/social organisations throughout the Highlands, their numbers (as low as they are) have been maintained and will hopefully continue to grow in the future.

I too saw a Scottish Wildcat in the wild back in 2007. I was walking alone in the heather-clad hills surrounding Newtonmore in Inverness-shire, and happen to catch a glimpse of one crouching near a burn; the wildcat looked straight at me, as I paused and remained completely still. After about 30 seconds, which felt like an eternity, it ran away and disappeared into the purple heather. Like you, it was a very special and extremely moving experience for me - especially since us Macphersons hold the Scottish Wildcat in such high regard.

Cheers,

[Nathan]

So, after letting the poll run for a while, the anti-lap taxidermy demographic has made a respectable showing. Notwithstanding the 9 thoughtful xmarks members, and accounting for various qualifying statements and caveats, it still seems that an 85% to 15% difference puts the lie to the idea that a full mask sporran is "not longer acceptable Highland accessory".

I wonder how the numbers would breakdown if we had a larger female membership here on xmarks. Colin says that his lady forbids him to wear a sporran with a face, so it makes me wonder if there would be a statistically relevant difference between men and women on this question.

N

[Tobus]

I wonder how the numbers would breakdown if we had a larger female membership here on xmarks. Colin says that his lady forbids him to wear a sporran with a face, so it makes me wonder if there would be a statistically relevant difference between men and women on this question.

N

I'm positive that women would skew the results the other direction. But so what? As much as I respect the ladies, they have never been the driving force behind what defines Highland attire. It is, and has always been, a man's form of dress, with certain manly or martial aspects, steeped in tradition and not subject to the whims of fashion like ladies' wear.

[Jock Scot]

I have no real facts and figures, but I would say that KA have summed up the feeling about new full mask sporrans and hair sporrans in general, in Scotland, pretty well. We need to remember that, unfortunately I would say, Scotland and the UK in general is further removed from the land and its practical and "gruesome" realities, than many other countries appear to be. There are of course exceptions to this, but I suspect that they would be a minority.

[BCAC]

I have no real facts and figures, but I would say that KA have summed up the feeling about new full mask sporrans and hair sporrans in general, in Scotland, pretty well. We need to remember that, unfortunately I would say, Scotland and the UK in general is further removed from the land and its practical and "gruesome" realities, than many other countries appear to be. There are of course exceptions to this, but I suspect that they would be a minority.

It would appear to be simply this new Politically Correct world that we live in.