Edwardian Sporran - Help!

[MacRobert's Reply]

While browsing Ebay UK last week, I came across this sporran, incorrectly identified as a "sporan". The seller said it was circa 1900, the cantle was silver, the hair was molting and the back had been repaired. I put in a very modest bid, assuming that only the cantle and bells would be useable. Mine was the winning bid and here it is:





The seller's description appears to be most accurate. The blond goat hair (I think it is) is moulting at an alarming rate from its skin and the leather bag on the rear is brittle. The stitching appears to have been repaired with some expertise on one occasion and then with rather less skill on a second. In short, that lot is scrap.

However, the cantle if it is indeed silver, looks worth recycling. I plan to get it acid tested later in the week.

My first question for those of you with sporran knowledge is what approximate date do you think this cantle is? It appears to have had a hard life and this is probably not the first sporran that it has been attached to. In the photographs below you will see that it has been repaired using a different colour of solder and with less expertise. More tellingly, two of the four original brass mounting screws are missing (you can see where they were originally attached in the photographs) and have no corresponding holes in this sporran. These have been replaced by two copper spikes that with the two remaining brass screws held the cantle to this sporran. The central steel screw has also been soldered on later.








Any help with dating the cantle would be much appreciated because I suspect it is earlier that the sporran.

More questions later!

[Cowher]

That is awesome!! What a score. I don't know the answers to your questions but if you decide you don't want it send me a pm.

[Bigkahuna]

You have a nice old sporran there!! I don't have any idea of the date, but Victorian looks right. I would be very tempted just to mount that in a frame and keep it as a collectors piece.

[Big Mikey]

I am guessing that if you are having it acid tested that there are no assay marks or hallmarks. Sterling or high quality plate of the time frame you suggest should be marked in some way. In any case, a nice cantle for reuse in a new sporran.

[artificer]

I'm not too much help here, but the fact that there is no assayer's mark could be a bit worrying.

The cantle is definitely a treasure, very attractive. The bag does seem worse for wear.

It's odd that the bright red trim on the outer edge of the bag doesn't make the full perimeter of the bag (cut off where another cantle might have once been mounted).

From what I've seen, the "non matching" flap for the rear pocket is also out of character.

OC Richard is probably your man for the job on this one.

In either case, (silver or not) congratulations! It is a wonderful cantle, and will make a smashing top to any sporran.

[OC Richard]

Wow that's a fantastic sporran, right out of The Highlanders of Scotland!!

Seems that all the images I see of Victorian-era Highland Dress show cantles and buckles like that, made of sheet metal and engraved.

The cast-metal cantles and buckles with raised designs don't appear to have become popular until the 20th century.

What I would do is get a new goathair sporran made to fit that cantle. Pricey but worth every penny, I would say!

Here's the closest sporran to that one, that appears in The Highlanders of Scotland (most of the cantles are curved) seen worn by the man on the left.

Get yourself that waistbelt buckle (that pattern is now being made again) , a red waistcoat, tartan hose, and a shotgun and you're good to go!!

[tulloch]

Beautiful item. I would save the parts, make patterns and re-manufacture it with the same hardware. No matter the provenance, it is a beauty. One to keep and love.

[MacRobert's Reply]

Many thanks for all your helpful comments and, especially to OC Richard for your insight on engraved sheet cantles preceding the cast versions. The bells are also engraved sheet rather than cast construction. All the evidence suggests that the cantle is older than the sporran but is the first cantle that was fitted to it.

The bright red trim, Artificer, is the result of the earlier and more competent repair which was mainly re-stitching. The unmatched flap, the result of a later and bodged repair.

Using the original as a pattern, I think making a near copy could by my winter project, perhaps with a gusset and fully-opening bag.

My next appeal for advice is, where can I get about 8 square inches of goat skin with long blond/white hair that has been properly tanned and will not moult?

[Harold Cannon]

I would suggest not using the hair on the hide method but using the method that Josh uses at Skye Highland Outfitters. He sews and glues the hair down to canvas or a good piece of thin leather. I am of the understanding that shedding becomes a non-issue this way.

[MacRobert's Reply]

I would suggest not using the hair on the hide method but using the method that Josh uses at Skye Highland Outfitters. He sews and glues the hair down to canvas or a good piece of thin leather. I am of the understanding that shedding becomes a non-issue this way.

Sounds like a technique worth exploring Harold. Perhaps I could shear the original sporran and re-use the hair.

Have any of the rabble done this? I need a tutorial.