"Interesting" sporran, dirk, sgian & other items up for auction on November 17th

[MacSpadger]

Apparently Scottish pebble jewelry enjoyed some popularity in the late 1800's early 1900's.

Oh yes, there is a case at the museum where I work that holds hundreds of pieces, kilt pins, rings, etc, but mainly brooches.

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

Gentlemen, at $3000 this suite is a snip. As far as the mountings being coin silver (.800 fine vs. .925 fine) this matters not a whit. Short of missing it's original case (the fitted box all of this would have originally come in) this is as good as it gets in terms of collectable Highland accouterments.

Frankly, I'd be mildly surprised if it didn't exceed the top estimate.

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

Tam, intersting that both the Royal Standard and the (pre-republican) Irish Flag are shown in the picture.

[creagdhubh]

Yeah, some of these items seem a little over the top. Especially if they were all worn together. It's a little much!

Are those two buckles a pair of shoe buckles? Can't say I've ever seen shoe buckles with inset stones.

***

Agate city!!! Lol!

[ThistleDown]

So, what think you? I have just run through the individual pieces and done some current-price comparisons in the antique market in Scotland as I know it today. My fairly educated guess is USD8700, willing buyer added to the obviously willing seller. There are some mid-eastern buyers who collect Highland gear and if they are interested the sp will be higher. Pre-buyers premium, of course. The glitsch for the auctioneer, of course, is the presence or absence of qualified US bidders because they often drive the price higher even though the eventual buyer is usually somewhere else in the world.

[Dixiecat]

When you see sets or items like this you really should try to put it in context of it's intended setting. Perhaps it was made for a coronation? There's a thread (and I tried to go back and find it again, really) that shows a photograph of a two gentlemen in kilts, one wearing a coronet, I believe for George V's coronation. A set such as the one in this thread would not look out of place in such a setting.

Or perhaps these items follow the rule for jewellery sets or parures, in that you never wore the whole set together?

[Dale-of-Cedars]

Or perhaps these items follow the rule for jewellery sets or parures, in that you never wore the whole set together?

Thank you very much, I've learned a new word today
(to add to my... uhh... wossname... big list of words I know.)

[MacSpadger]

Tam, intersting that both the Royal Standard and the (pre-republican) Irish Flag are shown in the picture.

The Red Saltire has a number of uses, it's thought that the Irish use of the flag may come from the personal standard of Gerald Fitzgerald VIII the Earl of Kildare, but he was not the only person to use it. The Earl of Lennox standard was also a red saltire with a silver background, as was that of Clan Cargill in East Perthshire.
The red saltire on a gold background is well known as being representative of Robert the Bruce and Clan Bruce.
As this seems to be a red saltire on a white or silver background, perhaps it's representative of the Atholl Brigade, who had standards exactly like the one in the illustration captured at Culloden?

**EDIT** I've just had a look at the history of this picture and found the following:

The Prince of Wales hosts the legendary 19th Century Gathering of the Clans. Identified in the poster are the Chieftains of the following Clans: Cameron, Campbell, Chisholm, Farquharson, Fraser, Forbes, Gordon, Graham, MacDonald, MacDonnell, MacFarlane, MacGregor, MacIntosh, MacKenzie, MacLachlan, MacLean, MacNab, MacPherson, MacRae, Munro, Murray, Ross, Scott, Stewart, Sutherland.

A larger version of the image can be found by clicking here. Can anyone make out the tartan of the standard bearer?

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

The Red Saltire has a number of uses, it's thought that the Irish use of the flag may come from the personal standard of Gerald Fitzgerald VIII the Earl of Kildare, but he was not the only person to use it. The Earl of Lennox standard was also a red saltire with a silver background,

Actually, the arms of Lennox are argent a saltire engrailed gules between four roses barbed and seeded proper, which is really quite different than the flag depicted in the "Gathering of the Clans".

I'm guessing that the Royal Banner is probably being borne by Henry Scrymgeour Wedderburn, hereditary Standard Bearer in Scotland. (The same Henry carried the banner at the coronation of Edward VII; the banner of Ireland being carried by O'Conor Don.) That, of course, doesn't explain the presence of the Irish flag at the Prince of Wales Gathering of the Clans, unless it was carried by one of the Irish Macdonald chieftains as a reminder that they were at once Scottish and Irish chiefs.

The reality of it is that unless someone can figure out who all those Highland chiefs and chieftains are we'll
probably never know for sure.

[edit: MacSpadger has now provided the list of those present in the picture which, since it doesn't include Scrymgeour, leaves us no closer to the answer.]