Quote Originally Posted by orvice View Post
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The cloth appears to be home-made and of 18th c. provenance (judging by the herringbone selvedge and the presumably "hard" finish to the cloth. It's dimensions and fringing suggest that this cloth was a shawl or shoulder plaid. The amount of red (cochineal?) suggests that the cloth was made for a person of some financial means.

The tag indicates this cloth came from a collection, and the general lack of wear suggests that it was collected while still relatively new and stored for a long period of time in a folded state. I can't make out the writing on the tag, but if that were to be enlarged, the style of penmanship would help establish the general date when it was written.

I'm guessing that this is home-made shawl or shoulder plaid of hard tartan, and was made for a person of the clan gentry sometime in the mid-to-late 18th century, and that it was collected and made part of a collection (possibly the Highland Club of London's collection) at the end of the 18th c. or the beginning of the 19th c.
The C18th origin is almost certainly correct although it could equally be early C19th and the exact dating would have a bearing on the availability and cost of cochineal and therefore the owner. The piece is certainly well dyed and the cochineal is a good scarlet which can only be obtained using a tin mordant suggesting that it was professionally dyed, probably outside the Highlands.

The cloth is coarse but not hard like some of the C18th linen type pieces but the herringbone selvedge and general handle does point towards the cloth being rurally woven.

The tag does indeed indicate that it is in a collection, the Heriot-Watt University textile collection, but the writing on it is not relevant to the piece as it's merely archival data and does not relate to the piece's origins. Yes, the piece is in good condition but it does not necessarily mean that it was collected a long time ago, simply that it was not used often. The University was donated the piece from a collector who died in the 1970s but they know nothing of how he obtained it, from when or when which is regrettable.

Is the form that we see the original intended use, now there’s a question