Tartan of the Month - August: What do you see?

**Morris at Heathfield** · 1st August 11, 02:48 PM

Looks like it to me as well. There appear to be three different variations of the tartan on the tartan registers: ITI numbers 878, 899, and 968. According to the notes for #878 on the Scottish Register of Tartans, the tartan was first produced by Wilsons of Bannockburn in 1797 as "Bruce", later known as "Old Bruce" before it became a MacColl tartan. According to the notes for #968 on the Scottish Tartans Authority website, the tartan comes from the Glencoe Museum, where it was identified as a piece of Flora MacDonald's wedding dress, and was adopted as the MacColl tartan around 1930. The STA website identifies it as a pre-1750 tartan. There also seems to be some confusion between green and brown stripes.

Regarding the fragment itself, I'd say it's likely from a plaid. It apparently has a herringbone selvage on the right side of the photograph, although much of it is cut off (by the edge of the photograph). I see bright red and dark blue, but I'm not entirely certain whether there are one or two other colors. The dark stripes flanking the blue stripes appear to be a sort of medium brown, whereas the other dark stripes appear to be a darker shade, either of green or brown, or of some admixture between the two. I would say that ITI #968 (taken from the MacGregor-Hastie collection) captures the pattern of this fragment the best.

**figheadair** · 2nd August 11, 01:32 AM

Originally Posted by Morris at Heathfield

Looks like it to me as well. There appear to be three different variations of the tartan on the tartan registers: ITI numbers 878, 899, and 968. According to the notes for #878 on the Scottish Register of Tartans, the tartan was first produced by Wilsons of Bannockburn in 1797 as "Bruce", later known as "Old Bruce" before it became a MacColl tartan. According to the notes for #968 on the Scottish Tartans Authority website, the tartan comes from the Glencoe Museum, where it was identified as a piece of Flora MacDonald's wedding dress, and was adopted as the MacColl tartan around 1930. The STA website identifies it as a pre-1750 tartan. There also seems to be some confusion between green and brown stripes.

Clearly this one is too easy

. The STA notes for #968 are mine so this is the piece from the Glencoe Museum and as such it is neither MacColl or Bruce.

But there's more to discern from the fragment.

**Morris at Heathfield** · 2nd August 11, 11:30 PM

Well, it appears to have been hosted by Photobucket.

**figheadair** · 3rd August 11, 12:16 AM

Originally Posted by Morris at Heathfield

Well, it appears to have been hosted by Photobucket.

MoH - you're on fire this morning

I'll post something later that will/should blown your mind

**figheadair** · 3rd August 11, 08:39 AM

Originally Posted by figheadair

MoH - you're on fire this morning

I'll post something later that will/should blown your mind

Now what do you think? I'll leave this for a week or so for other to have their twa penny worth too.

**sydnie7** · 3rd August 11, 09:48 AM

Originally Posted by figheadair

Now what do you think? I'll leave this for a week or so for other to have their twa penny worth too.

Well it's gorgeous, both sides of it, whatever it turns out to be!

**figheadair** · 3rd August 11, 10:25 AM

Oh dear! - look again

**Nighthawk** · 4th August 11, 09:38 PM

Originally Posted by Morris at Heathfield

Well, it appears to have been hosted by Photobucket.

My thought, too. I can't see it...

**xman** · 4th August 11, 10:20 PM

Looking only at the image in post #7 (as it's the only one I see) I can spot a herringbone selvedge on the lower plaid in the image. Guessing then that this is the piece for the month I'll state that the green is either an astounding choice and very vibrant or else has faded somewhat over time. It's such a nice green though that it seems intentional.

It looks like the piece on the top of the image is a similar tartan, but employs more than one Green, perhaps a Navy too. I wonder how these plaids are (obviously) related. MacQuarrie maybe?

**figheadair** · 5th August 11, 12:33 AM

Originally Posted by Morris at Heathfield

I interpreted Peter's response to Sydnie to mean that these are two different pieces of cloth.

MoH - you interpret correctly.

Originally Posted by xman

Looking only at the image in post #7 (as it's the only one I see) I can spot a herringbone selvedge on the lower plaid in the image. Guessing then that this is the piece for the month I'll state that the green is either an astounding choice and very vibrant or else has faded somewhat over time. It's such a nice green though that it seems intentional.

It looks like the piece on the top of the image is a similar tartan, but employs more than one Green, perhaps a Navy too. I wonder how these plaids are (obviously) related. MacQuarrie maybe?

X - the smaller piece was that shown in the OP. You're on the right track - keep going and tease that thought process out.