1680 Picture questions.

[OC Richard]

It was customary for portraitists to paint their subjects from life.

My assumption, therefore, would be that the subject is dressed precisely as he posed before the artist.

There is a clear distinction to be made between portraitists and illustrators. Portraitists are hired by the subject. Illustrators are given a job by a publisher, and use whatever source material they can find.

[Henry Mc]

One needs to treat Martin's observations with a degree of caution. He was a Factor on Skye but it is not at all certain that he was a native Sgianach and his statement about 'sett sticks' demonstrates that he clearly had no understanding of the weaving process or what he was reporting on. By ‘striped’ did Martin mean checked/tartan? How long was the cubit stick? We don’t know for certain as a cubit has been defined variously but a rough guesstimate would be 18” x 5”. How exactly a piece of wood that size is used ‘for shaping the trews’ is anyone’s guess but the reference suggests that some form of measuring, cutting and sewing was involved. All in all very unhelpful.

Fair play, you seem to know your stuff. I find that with much of the sources, you nearly need an interpreter to modernise much of the language etc. I was focused on the "There is a square piece of cloth which hangs down before." as being our elusive' 'sporran' in our JM Wright painting.

[Henry Mc]

This portrait seems to be significant as a pointer to early highland dress, earliest date for the painting is 1640-66, the quote below gives it as late as 1720...

The Portrait of Andrew vs The Eulogy

This portrait hung in Cluny Castle for many years before the contents of Cluny Castle were auctioned off in 1943 in the wartime Glasgow sale. It was purchased by loyal clansmen and became one of the Clan's treasures along with the Feadan Dubh, Brattach Uaine and many others on display here. The young man portrayed is clearly Andrew, the grandson of Andrew the 14th Chief. But there is a eulogy bestowed on an Andrew Macpherson of Cluny that was written by Alexander Brodie of Brodie, Lord of Session in 1649 and published in his The Lairds of Brodie. The date given brings into question whether Brodie's description is that of the grandson (then 7 years of age) or the grandfather. Although the latter was then in his seventies, might not the following description be a more likely match? "He was an Absalom for beauty, a Joseph for continence, a Tully for eloquence, and a Jonathan for friendship. He had all the embellishments of both sexes, without the infirmities of either." A seven year-old such as that would be precocious indeed. An identical portrait of Andrew is in the Scottish National Portrait Gallery in Edinburgh. Their records show that experts have argued over whom the artist was and the date of the painting. It is now thought unlikely that the portrait was painted during the lifetime of Andrew Macpherson. Instead it is believed to be a posthumous portrait dating from the 1720s. The painting holds most interest as an early depiction of Highland dress.

[ThistleDown]

...you seem to know your stuff.

Nice understatement, Henry. We are very fortunate to have exceptionally learned folk in a myriad disciplines regularly on board here. Peter Macdonald is one of them.

[Henry Mc]

Thought this was interesting. A Scottish bagpiper from c.1745, but what are those pipes he's playing, not your usual Bagpipes but a type of union pipes not usually associated with the highlands

[Henry Mc]

Highlanders in 1745

[neloon]

Thought this was interesting. A Scottish bagpiper from c.1745, but what are those pipes he's playing, not your usual Bagpipes but a type of union pipes not usually associated with the highlands

So he's not a Highlander??
Alan

[Nathan]

Out of interest this part of the British line was commanded by Major Wolfe later to be Major General Wolfe of "Heights of Abraham" fame.

You're correct. Many of those same Highlanders fought under Wolfe on the Plains of Abraham...

[crew2447]

What an interesting thread.

I'm curious how the hose or tights in the original picture were made. This was long before the advent of spandex, nylon, and polyester. What fiber was used? Were they knit or woven? Did they have fine gauge needles back then? Were they durable? Or were they worn by wealthy gents who didn't expose them to hard labor?

Re: the Scottish bagpiper picture. Rather than union pipes I'd guess they are bellows blown pipes similar to these shuttle pipes by John Walsh: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2TsDHJjY7E The video shows mouth blown pipes, but there are varieties of small pipes that can be configured as either mouth blown or bellows blown.

[Henry Mc]

So he's not a Highlander??
Alan

It says he is