Unknown Hunting Scene

[ThistleDown]

Have a read of post 9, Tarheel. The "bush-whacker" is called a "beater" in Scotland and Ireland (and England?). The technique is most often used for grouse and pheasant now.

[Tarheel]

Have a read of post 9, Tarheel. The "bush-whacker" is called a "beater" in Scotland and Ireland (and England?). The technique is most often used for grouse and pheasant now.

I didn't get back to this before your post. My dad corrected me also (an avid quail and grouse hunter) I don't mind learning as I go.

[ThistleDown]

Two thumbs up on that, Tarheel.

[Jock Scot]

Have a read of post 9, Tarheel. The "bush-whacker" is called a "beater" in Scotland and Ireland (and England?). The technique is most often used for grouse and pheasant now.

"Beaters" in England too.

[ThistleDown]

Ta, Jock. Thought so.

[figheadair]

I've been contacted by Steven Akins commenting on the huntsman and the similarity with the figure in the background of the Michael Wright's "The Highland Chieftain" which may have been the source in the linen piece. I don't wish to be drawn into XMarks politics but it is right to credit the source of the observation.

Here is a comparision with the linen image reversed. There are certainly similarities between the two and it may well be that Wright's portait was the source for this element of the scene.

[Mel1721L]

Now how can I answer this without getting my post moderated?

I am not at all sure the huntsman is wearing the kilt, but perhaps he is? I do not recognise the scene and do wonder if it is staged in Scotland? Supposing it is Scotland the brace of long dogs interest me. I had always thought that the deer were hunted in Scotland with shaggy deer hound type things, but those in the picture are more like a couple of smooth haired greyhounds, which again causes me to think outwith Scotland?

Greyhounds feature in Celtic mythology, so hunting with greyhounds goes back a long time. Unfortunately it still happens in Spain and the hunters dispose of 50 to 100,000 dogs each year. Some are even hanged.

[Calgacus]

The image will be reversed because the woodcutter will have cut the printing block as he was looking at the original painting. When the block is turned over to make the print, the image becomes reversed.

I hope I am not breaking any rules by speaking about early hunting methods, I don't mean to, but if I am please let me know and I will delete the following part of the post.

Before the advent of firearms, deer hunting is Scotland was performed by sweeping over a large area of hillside with a line of beaters to herd the deer together. The herd was then driven down into a glen by hounds and men, some of them mounted. The location was chosen so that the deer were forced to pass through a narrow defile. Sometimes this was natural, sometimes it was man-made, namely specially constructed earth banks. Some of these still exist. As the deer passed through the defile, the selected prey were shot with bow and arrow by men hiding off to one side.

[Pleater]

The description of the way deer were hunted is similar to that described in English deer parks, where the land was managed and altered so as to make the herding of the deer from their usual feeding grounds or shelters - using dogs and men and sometimes boys on ponies to start them from the highest places and then direct them to where the gentry were waiting.

There were dogs trained to chase deer and others trained to catch them, for different types of hunting. I am not sure if their coats were different - so as to make it easy to tell them apart, so a smooth coated dog would be trained to chase and a rough one taught to attack and bring down. The same dogs would not do both jobs.

Anne the Pleater :ootd: