The Highland Wedding, 1780 by David Allen

[macwilkin]

One of my all-time favourite historical paintings of Highland dress is David Allen's The Highland Wedding, 1780. The following web site has some great information regarding it:

http://www.marariley.net/celtic/scotland.htm



Given the recent discussion of diced bonnets, please note the young lad in the trews with one (and a sporran).

This is a fitting first thread in the new Historical Highland Attire, methinks!

Yours aye,

Todd

[Woodsheal]

A great painting! Note that the fiddler on the left is not wearing actual trews but separate tartan knee-breeches and hose....

[MacAngus]

The fiddler is also a well renowned composer and player named neil Gow.
You can't see it from that pic but there are two pipers sitting on barrells as well.
Great painting

[KFCarter]

I love the painting and the link! Thanks, Todd.

[Woodsheal]

The fiddler is also a well renowned composer and player named Neil Gow.

Exactly! And here's the portrait of Gow that the fiddler figure is based upon:





Again, note the separate breeches and hose (these sewn on the bias) as opposed to one-piece trews....

[Bugbear]

Note to self:

Proof that sporrans were, in the past, worn with the pants-like trews...

I take it that the sporran is being worn in the front and center with the trews.

[Woodsheal]

Note to self:

Proof that sporrans were, in the past, worn with the pants-like trews...

I take it that the sporran is being worn in the front and center with the trews.

Yes, hanging from a waistbelt that can just barely be seen below his waistcoat (vest), not a lower, modern-type sporran belt.

[McMurdo]

Here is what the National Archives of Scotland has on their site



David Allan
Highland Wedding at Blair Atholl1780

This was painted after Allan's return from Italy, and was the first of his many Scottish genre subjects. Neil Gow, the celebrated violin player, composer and collector of music, takes his place amongst the musicians; Gow's services were retained by the Duke of Atholl, for a fee of £5 a year. The tartan worn in this picture was done so illegally, for highland dress had been proscribed after the Jacobite rising of 1745 in an Act not repealed until 1782.

http://www.nationalgalleries.org/col...Allan&submit=1

[dfmacliam]

I see people still dancing like that.....lol
A very excellent painting to get plenty of historical information on wearing of the kilts.... I am sure there is a law somewhere preventing the likes of me squeezing my large uhhhh yeah, into skin tight trews like these.

[Bugbear]

Are the hose pulled up over the knee breeches, or do the legs go over the hose?