Sir Alexander Macdonald c1772 - an interesting outfit

[figheadair]

I've been looking at the portrait of Sir Alexander Macdonald, 9th Baronet of Sleat by Sir George Chalmers c1772.



It is interesting for a number of reasons. Firstly, it is, I think, the oldest known example of someone wearing a full outfit (coat, waistcoat and kilt/feileadh beag) in the same tartan. The approximate date places it during the latter part of the Proscription era and some 10 years before the beginnings of the Highland Revival. It could of be that the dating in wrong and the portrait is later.

The coat and waistcoat lack a collar and show stylistic similarities to some of those shown in Morier’s Culloden picture and also that worn in Reynold’s portrait of the Earl of Dunmore. It’s difficult to determine whether the lower garment is a feileadh beag (unsewn) or kilt (sewn-in pleats) but the evident broad box pleats all the way around, including the front, might suggest a sewn garment.

All in all a fascinating portrait.

[OC Richard]

It is fascinating. I love all those old portraits. Years ago I visited the National Portrait Gallery in Edinburgh and saw a number of portraits I'd previously only known through photos in books.

My understanding is that that museum was subsumed under the National Museums Scotland. Was the collection broken up or was it only a name change?

Here's a bigger image of that particular painting:



Personally I find the following painting perhaps the most impressive (in person) of those 18th century full-length portraits, and the fact that it has multiple versions and is so often incorrectly attributed interesting:

http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/f...intings-74907/

That thread is closed now so a recent observation about the painting and its copy (or copies) will have to appear here: the original has a lovely composition device, the viewer's eye being lead in an elegant "S" curve over the surface of the painting. The copy changed the sword-arm and ruined the composition.

The MacDonald portrait above has a rather static composition. The more I look at it the more awkward it seems, almost as if the artist was used to painting waist-up portraits, and when commissioned to do a full-length portrait almost didn't know what to do with all that extra space.

Note that this cropped portion looks better composed, so much so that the full painting strikes me as the portrait below with the rest added, rather than a full-length portrait per se.



Back to the Copley portrait (which was obviously painted as a full-length composition from the get-go) the accuracy of the 1780 date was called into question. It is standard for reputable painters, of which Copley was certainly one, to sign and date their works. I can't imagine him falsifying the date of one of his own paintings.

[Luke MacGillie]

I don't want to run afoul of the authorities, but also interesting to me, is what appears to be a non Scottish pistol, and his sword hilt has a cut out in it for holding onto a horses reins.

[Tarheel]

I find the cantle of the sporran quite interesting. I will assume the metal to be pewter for these reasons. The buckle on the baldric seems to be silver. A pewter cantle would be easier to cast with the designs shown in the painting. I also like the square (obvious spacious opening) shape. One could put a lot of items in there with ease.

Sorry to distract from the OP's subject.

[Luke MacGillie]

I find the cantle of the sporran quite interesting. I will assume the metal to be pewter for these reasons. The buckle on the baldric seems to be silver. A pewter cantle would be easier to cast with the designs shown in the painting. I also like the square (obvious spacious opening) shape. One could put a lot of items in there with ease.

Sorry to distract from the OP's subject.

Ive never seen a pewter cantle, but ive not seen every surviving 18th Century sporran or cantle. Not dismissing your idea, outright, but I think that if its a white metal, then silver or even cut steel are better choices.

Here are a couple squarish sporran cantles, photos from a google search.

[figheadair]

Allowing for artistic licence, I don't why the cantle wouldn't be brass, or possibly bronze.

[Benning Boy]

What I notice about the sporran is that it appears to be hanging from a wider belt than is customary nowadays, and it also appears to be worn higher than is common today. I like what I see, and will make that "traditional" for me.

The red facing on the jacket is a nice touch. The simplicity of its construction appeals to me; no fancy cuffs, no epaulettes, just elegance.

[figheadair]

What I notice about the sporran is that it appears to be hanging from a wider belt than is customary nowadays, and it also appears to be worn higher than is common today. I like what I see, and will make that "traditional" for me.

The red facing on the jacket is a nice touch. The simplicity of its construction appeals to me; no fancy cuffs, no epaulettes, just elegance.

The higher up style is similar to that in the portriat of James Moray of Abercarney.



The red lining seems to have been popular. It is a feature in three of the five surviving Culloden era coats I known of. Of the remaining two, one, the Culloden Coat, the lining is gray and in the other, the Hynde Cotton suit, it's white.

[The Q]

I don't want to run afoul of the authorities, but also interesting to me, is what appears to be a non Scottish pistol, and his sword hilt has a cut out in it for holding onto a horses reins.

Swords are for battle and a Gentleman would have arrived at the battle site on horseback, Even if he chose to fight on foot. You cannot risk being surprised on horse back and being unable to fight back / control the horse.

Quote
Benning Boy

What I notice about the sporran is that it appears to be hanging from a wider belt than is customary nowadays, and it also appears to be worn higher than is common today. I like what I see, and will make that "traditional" for me.

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In an earlier thread I mentioned
The Sporran is a the Scottish Development of the scrip,
http://www.karlrobinson.co.uk/mens_b...val_wallet.php
http://sandradodd.com/duckford/bag

It looks like those paintings are showing a sporran much nearer the Scrip in Development terms

[Tarheel]

Valid points Luke and Peter on the sporran cantle metal. I expect the painter allowed for artistic interpretation. I was guessing on the available materials and costs for an ornate design. However we are discussing a Scotsman's outfit. A practical choice would trump a brash decision in most cases.