Tartan of the Month - Jul 12. What do you see?

**Dixiecat** · 5th July 12, 09:24 AM

We'll have to take your word on the colour of the stripes in the right circle as they don't look like any colour other than the background. Brown must have been a hard colour to stay fast? Or is it just a trick of the lighting?

**figheadair** · 6th July 12, 02:03 AM

Originally Posted by Dixiecat

We'll have to take your word on the colour of the stripes in the right circle as they don't look like any colour other than the background. Brown must have been a hard colour to stay fast? Or is it just a trick of the lighting?

But your circles are covering halftone areas and therefore don't represent pure colours. If the right hand one is moved up or down to cover the green square then it would also encompass the brown overstripes too. Here are high-res extracts of the blue and green sections.

Blue square with light blue/green overstripes.

Green square with brown overstripes. There are a number of ways of getting brown with natural dyes. Traditionally a shade like that shown would probably have been obtained from a dyestuff like cochineal or madder (neither of which only give red) which would have been saddened, or one of several tannin sources. Slightly later Wilsons used imported the tropical hardwood known as 'Rid-wood' in conjunction with Shoemack and coppras to sadden the colour.

**David Thorpe** · 6th July 12, 02:34 AM

Originally Posted by figheadair

...Slightly later Wilsons used...

So this is either pre-Wilson or an earlier Wilson?

**SlackerDrummer** · 6th July 12, 11:33 AM

Hey, I was pretty darn close.

It's a very attractive tartan, I think.

**figheadair** · 6th July 12, 11:53 PM

Originally Posted by SlackerDrummer

Hey, I was pretty darn close.

It's a very attractive tartan, I think.

Not bad at all. Here's an accurate reconstruction by count and different colours. The actual shades will of course appear differently on different screens.

So what else can we tell/guess about this piece?

**figheadair** · 12th July 12, 03:59 AM

Originally Posted by figheadair

So what else can we tell/guess about this piece?

All done? Surely not!

**David Thorpe** · 12th July 12, 07:06 AM

The sett appears to be symmetrical but huge. I don't have the experience to recognize or try to affix a name to it.

**figheadair** · 12th July 12, 07:54 AM

Originally Posted by David Thorpe

The sett appears to be symmetrical but huge. I don't have the experience to recognize or try to affix a name to it.

Quite large and yes, symmetrical. And what else....? Patterns of that period did not have names (so far as we know) and very few have been adopted a later clan or family setts.

**figheadair** · 21st July 12, 03:18 AM

Originally Posted by figheadair

Quite large and yes, symmetrical. And what else....?

This thread seems to have gone cold. So.... a herringbone selvedge means what?

**figheadair** · 5th August 12, 12:29 AM

Originally Posted by figheadair

This thread seems to have gone cold. So.... a herringbone selvedge means what?

With this colouration and quality of weave it means an 18th century joined plaid. Unfortunately as it's in a case I cannot be certain of the size and therefore whether it was for wearing or domestic wear. Hopefully that will become clearer next time I visit the West Highland Museum.