Tartan of the month - December: What do you see?

[figheadair]

Any more?

[figheadair]

Attractive sett. Excellent colours. Very Wilsons looking. Wonderful balance. It looks like five colours to me, but there could be a Yellow as well as a pale Green. Herringbone edge up top which appears to end in the Light Blue rather then the Dark Blue therefore breaking the sett right at the edge. Early to mid 19th century then? Have I got that right?

Nearly at the end of the month and no-one else seems to have any in put so let's review what can be determined and surmised.

Firstly, here's a graphic showing the full sett. The shades are not as subtle as the original but it gives the overall impression.



Xman mentioned that it is a very Wilsons looking sett and I agree. Its setting and weight is similar to some of their late C18th Fancy setts so I'd date this to c1780-1820 and say that it's probably Wilsons' Old Superfine cloth. I'd already mentioned the size as being about 6x8" and from the image and the rough date one could surmise that the cloth was worsted. Holding it confirms the fact. At that sort of date the colours would have been naturally dyed and the red, a classic cochineal scarlet, is not something that can easily be done at home, so this again suggests a more industrial level of production such as that Wilsons were doing but around 1775.

With the selvedge at the top of the image it is clear that the picture has been turned by 90 degrees and it has obviously been cut to shape at some point and has a number of stitches evident around the edges. Whether this piece formed part of a larger garment, furniture upholstery or the like or was a reused fragment from an older length is difficult to say for certain but as the stitching is rather haphazard it's most likely that this feature was from a later application and that the cloth was originally a plaid/shawl length or part of a garment such as a jacket that would have been more neatly sewn.

As with so many fragments, especially where there is evidence of reuse we can date the cloth fairly well but are often left wondering about the exact original and later use of the material. Undoubtedly that will remain the case in this instance.