Earliest use of brass-cantle sporrans?

[OC Richard]

About old sporrans in museums, we must be aware that these tell us the what but not the when.

The story of the bagpipe is full of such stuff, old sets in museums with fanciful stories/myths attached to them, but no concrete provenance. Or, in one famous case, a set of pipes with the date 1409 carved on them, which proved to be a 19th century fake.

So besides that cantle Matt posted with a date on it, we're in the dark about the when of the brass cantle, at least from material evidence.

So we turn to old portraits. Unfortunately it's often difficult to tell whether the cantle is supposed to be leather or metal.

Our ealiest clear depiction of Highland Dress, by Michael Wright c1660, shows no sporran, likewise The Piper To The Laird Grant, Richard Waitt, 1714. But its companion painting Alastair Grant Mor clearly shows a leather flap on the sporran, as does the portait of Lord Duffus c1710.

The portrait of James Moray by Jerimiah Davidson c1744 shows a grey sealskin sporran with matching flap.

The portrait of Sir Stuart Threipland by William Delacour c1755 appears to show a soft deerskin sporran with matching flap.

By the 1780s there are various paintings showing rectangular metal cantles. So where is there an 18th century portrait showing the semicircular brass cantle so often seen in museums?

About the circle decoration on old sporrans, it's a common ancient European motif often called "Goddess' Eyes".

There's a c13th century bone pipe from Wales which is covered with them.

Here's an 18th century Scottish bagpipe featuring them



They're more common on Bulgarian pipes, even today. Here's a Bulgarian bagpipe covered with them