Tartan of the Month - Aug 12: What do you see?

[Tobus]

These are very interesting conclusions, and could be historically significant, as you said.

But I have a question. Your conclusion on its age seems to revolve around the statement that rurally hand-woven joined plaids with a herringboned selvedge ceased to be woven by around 1770. Given the fact that these were rurally woven (and thus, I assume, not done by well-documented mills), how sure are you that this older style of weaving ceased entirely by that date? Is it possible that one or two small crofters carried on this style of hand-weaving later than everyone else? I could see it being possible that a mother taught her daughter the 'old way' and the daughter made a plaid many years later, using the new MacIntyre sett that she saw somewhere.

Without conclusive proof that no one hand-wove in this style after circa 1770 (which would be nigh impossible to conclusively prove), I would think that the age of this piece remains very much in question.

[xman]

Very interesting. Thank-you for all of these, Peter. I have enjoyed them immensely.

[figheadair]

But I have a question. Your conclusion on its age seems to revolve around the statement that rurally hand-woven joined plaids with a herringboned selvedge ceased to be woven by around 1770. Given the fact that these were rurally woven (and thus, I assume, not done by well-documented mills), how sure are you that this older style of weaving ceased entirely by that date? Is it possible that one or two small crofters carried on this style of hand-weaving later than everyone else? I could see it being possible that a mother taught her daughter the 'old way' and the daughter made a plaid many years later, using the new MacIntyre sett that she saw somewhere.

Without conclusive proof that no one hand-wove in this style after circa 1770 (which would be nigh impossible to conclusively prove), I would think that the age of this piece remains very much in question.

That's a very reasonable question & of course you are right to say that se can never be completely certain but in over 30 years of research have never found an example of this style post c1770 so on the balance of probabilities I have that the structure & techniques used in this piece are C18th.

The other fact that draws me toward an earlier date is that this setting appears to be the proto-type MacIntyre which is simpler than those woven by Wilsons & found in the Cockburn Coll etc.

I'm currently away treking in the US but will write up the piece in a paper when I return.