Do any of the weathered tartans have official clan recognition?

[figheadair]

Just to keep this thread alive and as a further example of just how confusing the subject of dyes can be, have a look at this.

MacAlistair tartan - Wilsons' Colours


MacAlistair tartan - Old (Ancient or Vegetable Dye) Colours


Same sett but in different shades, apparently....



But look what a year in direct sunlight does.


Even with modern chemical dyes some shades fade more than others. It's interesting that the dark blue has retained its depth the best, something one sees with traditional natural dyes too. The red on the other hand has faded quite a lot whereas a traditional naturally dyed cochineal red is pretty light fast too if fixed with a tin mordant.

[Father Bill]

The tendency of some red colouring to fade is one of the reasons I understand, that many fire departments went to bright limey-yellow trucks for a while until tradition and history combined perhaps with new pigments restored them to red.

[OC Richard]

Your "a year in sunlight" reminds me of the tale told to me by a Scot:

He had a Highland Dress shop, which had a tartan necktie displayed in the window, which had become faded to the point of being unrecognisable. One day an American tourist comes in looking for a tie in "Clan Such-and-such" which the shopowner knew had no tartan, and the shopowner says "we have one right here in the window!" and sold it to him.

This MacKenzie Seaforth kilt being sold on Ebay a while back goes to show how fading can completely change the appearance of a tartan. Notice it's the black which has faded, to a light olive, while the blue and green have remained.



About "hunting tartans" it seems to me that there are at least three sorts

1) an existing tartan of the clan merely done in different colours

2) an entirely different tartan of the same clan which is designated at some point as the clan's hunting sett

3) a pre-existing tartan from without the clan which a clan adopts as its hunting tartan

[figheadair]

[QUOTE
About "hunting tartans" it seems to me that there are at least three sorts

1) an existing tartan of the clan merely done in different colours

2) an entirely different tartan of the same clan which is designated at some point as the clan's hunting sett

3) a pre-existing tartan from without the clan which a clan adopts as its hunting tartan[/QUOTE]

Spot on Richard. 3 out of 3.

[OC Richard]

Good to know I picked up something from all those books...

[Tarheel]

I can't say the clan chief recognizes this tartan but there is this from Scotsweb. The first is Colquhoun Modern and the second is an ancient reproduction. As you can see both fabrics are woven by Dalgliesh.


Our member "crash" has a kilt in the latter and I hope to get my own. "Cuz" crash has good taste.

[OC Richard]

I love the colours of the one on the right.

It would be a beautiful kilt, if the fabric as woven looked like the CGI.

Looks mostly like the "reproduction" colour scheme, but not quite, at least as it appears on my computer screen. I can't recall seeing that muted teal (as it appears).

It certainly isn't "ancient" colours as usually seen.

[Sir Didymous]

This is an interesting thread. I've always liked the weathered version of the Ferguson tartan. That is actually the new kilt I am looking into at the moment. While perusing the Clan Ferguson Society of North America website, I happened on something that struck me as odd. In the accepted tartans list, they have included the "Ferguson the Astronomer" (which I've always understood to be a non-clan tartan) and they have the weathered version listed as "Ferguson Weathered/Hunting".

I've considered writing someone at the society to ask why those two tartans are included that way? Maybe it's a matter of how our chief perceives them?