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Great info, thanks!
That's the first time I had seen the early 1700s sporran on the STM site. I see that the cantle has the same concentric circle grooves that appear on the MOD sporran cantles. Is there some specific significance to these? They make for a nice decorative effect, to be sure, but seeing them used on brass cantles for such a long time seems to suggest that there's something more to it. Any clue?
Artificer, yes, I suppose it would properly be called a fur sporran rather than a hair sporran. But in the end, isn't fur and hair the same thing? 
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 Originally Posted by Tobus
They make for a nice decorative effect, to be sure, but seeing them used on brass cantles for such a long time seems to suggest that there's something more to it. Any clue?
They are ancient devices most often found as petroglyphs in Scotland, Northern England and Ireland (but also elsewhere -- I've seen them in Graubunden and in the Po Valley) and called "cup and ring". Archeologists can't yet attribute anything to them other than a pleasing pattern, so whatever their connection with 17C and 18C sporran cantles it is unlikely to be anything more than decorative.
Last edited by ThistleDown; 6th July 12 at 09:09 PM.
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