Bruce of Kinnaird new weave

[OC Richard]

It's interesting when a tartan one is used to seeing in a certain colour-scheme is then woven in a different one, making it in some cases practically unrecognisable.

This has just happened here locally with Bruce of Kinnaird.

Here's what the STA has to say about the tartan:

"A variant of the Prince Charles Edward Stuart tartan and taken from a coat said to date from mid 18th century in the possession of the Bruces of Kinnaird. Authorised as the tartan for ordinary wear around 1953 by the then Lord Bruce of Kinnaird. Probably woven at one time by Anderson of Galashiels."

http://www.tartansauthority.com/tart...-kinnaird-clan

Our own Peter MacDonald stated in an earlier thread about the tartan:

"I saw the coat at an exhibition some 20 years ago. From what I recall I believe it was Wilsons' cloth which would fit with the setting which has all the hallmarks of their designs. Compare it for example with their Dundee and you'll see the similarities."

Our southwestern band Mesa Caledonia has long worn Bruce of Kinnaird in Ancient Colours. The tartan is quite distinctive due to the juxtaposition of a number of colours: burnt orange, lime green, fuchsia, and turquoise.

Here it is on the Lochcarron site, woven in Strome heavyweight tartan:

https://www.lochcarron.co.uk/bruce-o...tartan-fabric/

Here is the band in the tartan they long wore. A well turned-out band, and the tartan (to me) has a distinctive "southwestern" look to it



But at our recent Queen Mary Highland Games the band appeared in all-new kilts, and at first I didn't realise that it was the same tartan, but rendered in Modern Colours.



They said that Lochcarron did the weave for them, and dubbed it "Mesa Caledonian".

Here are three band members in the old kilts, with Drum Major Kevin Conquest in the new.

These photos don't do the new tartan justice- it's quite beautiful and striking.

[tokareva]

To me for some reason the ancient version looks better in the group shot than the modern does. But the modern definitely looks better individually.

[figheadair]

And like all Wilsons' tartans, so much nicer in the original IMO.

[OC Richard]

That is the original coat?

Lochcarron's "Ancient Bruce of Kinnaird" isn't too far off the mark, judging from that photo at least.

I do agree that the original is more integrated, softer, and more elegant.

Lochcarron "pushed" all the colours a bit, and the result begins to verge on the garish.

Seems to me that the similarity between Bruce of Kinnaird and Prince Charles Edward Stuart is more evident when both are seen in Modern Colours.

[figheadair]

Not sure if it's THE original coat but it's certainly the earliest surviving example of the tartan. The coat is c1790-1800 and belongs to the Earl of Elgin so it could well be from the original weave. Given Wilsons fancy for naming tartans after famous people, events and places it's possible that the name celebrated the famous explorer James Bruce of Kinnaird.