Strange eBay full mask - Anyone care to venture a guess?

[robthehiker]

It looks like a bad DIY job to me.

[lethearen]

That ebay one scares me...

[MacMillans son]

Artificer, I think you may have found the first known example of a Gopher sporran. Rich my friend, very rich!

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

Creagdhubh is right... The sporran on ebay looks like a muskrat sporran that has seen better days.

[artificer]

Creagdhubh is right... The sporran on ebay looks like a muskrat sporran that has seen better days.

I wasn't arguing that is might not be muskrat, but I was contesting the facts that:
a) it didn't need a wash
b) looked good.



I wonder if it actually WAS intended as a full mask originally, or if it isn't a "Frankenstein" amalgam of two previous sporrans. The visible stitch work on the top-back is either the WORST repair job I've ever seen* or is a poor attempt at making a full mask out of two previously demolished bags.

* When is it easier to punch NEW holes in leather than to re-thread through the original holes??? Although, I guess if the original took that much damage it would explain the rather nappy appearance of our small furry friend

The other thing that sets off a few alarm bells to me is the fact that the front seems so 'battle-damaged' while the back appears pristine (apart from the rogue stitch-work).

I'm by no-means the authoritative expert in historic Highland wear, but from many years in design and shopping for classic/antique furniture, the WILD difference between faces sets off alarms, as does the shoddy stitch work.

I know fur is far more delicate than leather, but for something to be THAT badly abused on the front, I'd expect to see a touch of wear on the back. Either light scraping from the chain, or wear to the bottom trim from being bounced back and forth across the legs... something. Maybe I'm wrong here, and if I am, I'd love to be corrected. It just seems fishy to me.

[JSFMACLJR]

Seems like a very good deal to me, especially if one is wanting a mask sporran. While it certainly has been repaired in a less-than-professional manner, for the price it is a great bargain. Muskrat.

I don't know what all the fuss is about!

[M. A. C. Newsome]

Yeah, I looked at the sporran on Ebay expecting to see something really strange from all the postings, but really it just looks to me like a muskrat mask sporran with a little age on it that at some point received a less-than-professional at-home repair job. (But really, that's not bad in and of itself. The stitches I doubt would be visible from the front when worn, and it's certainly more economic and less wasteful to repair a damaged sporran than to toss it and buy a new one).

I think someone can get a good deal here on a nice mask sporran that has both day and evening wear potential.

[Nighthawk]

Yeah, I looked at the sporran on Ebay expecting to see something really strange from all the postings, but really it just looks to me like a muskrat mask sporran with a little age on it that at some point received a less-than-professional at-home repair job. (But really, that's not bad in and of itself. The stitches I doubt would be visible from the front when worn, and it's certainly more economic and less wasteful to repair a damaged sporran than to toss it and buy a new one).

I think someone can get a good deal here on a nice mask sporran that has both day and evening wear potential.

I don't know about that... Normally, Matt, I take your word for gospel, but I have to say here that I normally think full mask sporrans are creepy... but this thing just looks like it was scraped off of the road! You can get a decent deal on some raw materials here to make your own mask sporran... but that thing to my eyes looks like a nightmare!!

[JSFMACLJR]

I don't know about that... Normally, Matt, I take your word for gospel, but I have to say here that I normally think full mask sporrans are creepy... but this thing just looks like it was scraped off of the road! You can get a decent deal on some raw materials here to make your own mask sporran... but that thing to my eyes looks like a nightmare!!

De gustibus, and all that, Nighthawk; I see nothing wrong with that sporran. In fact I might just bid on it.

[Ryan Ross]

I'll bet someone started with a leather day sporran, and that the fur was...ehem... aftermarket.