18th Century kilt and sporran

[MacRobert's Reply]

18th Century indeed

Perhaps artistic license but seeing the large oil painting of Breadalbane makes the pleating fairly clear. It is very flat as if pressed. The artist, I understand, was Irish, so probably not too familiar with kilts. On the other hand, the painting is very detailed in other respects such as the knots in the cravat and sporran tassels.

[figheadair]

Perhaps artistic license but seeing the large oil painting of Breadalbane makes the pleating fairly clear. It is very flat as if pressed. The artist, I understand, was Irish, so probably not too familiar with kilts. On the other hand, the painting is very detailed in other respects such as the knots in the cravat and sporran tassels.

One always has to be careful looking at old portrait showing tartan and Highland Dress especially if the artist did not specialise in Scottish portraits. Such painters were often very good at what they knew i.e. European dress of the day but often had real trouble understanding tartan and how to represent its folds etc.

The difficulty in representing and thus interpreting tartan is well illustrated in this case where the same part of the pattern can be seen painted differently.

[Biathlonman]

That bears no known resemblance to any Campbell tartan I've seen. This and other portraits can be seen on line at the Scottish National Gallery site.

This boy's grandfather was a Jacobite - which may come as a surprise to think that this clan were the most Whiggish of the "loyal" clans.

A lot of what we think we know about Scottish history is far more complex than the "surface" version.

[Morris at Heathfield]

That bears no known resemblance to any Campbell tartan I've seen. This and other portraits can be seen on line at the Scottish National Gallery site.

At this point in history, I think it would be more accurate to talk about "tartans worn by Campbells" than about "Campbell tartans". The Campbell tartans used today don't turn up in 18th-century portraits, since they are all essentially variations on the Government tartan. The only (possible) exception that I know of is that Pryse Campbell is shown in a portrait wearing a plaid in a tartan similar to (but not quite the same as) the Campbell of Cawdor tartan. The majority of 18th-century portraits of Campbells in Highland dress show them wearing black & red tartans. There is a later portrait of Lord Glenorchy in a jacket, plaid, and trews all in a red-based tartan.

This boy's grandfather was a Jacobite - which may come as a surprise to think that this clan were the most Whiggish of the "loyal" clans.

A lot of what we think we know about Scottish history is far more complex than the "surface" version.

Pryse Campbell, who I just mentioned, was apparently a Jacobite. Glenorchy was merely wrongly suspected of being a Jacobite. According to the Lairds of Glenlyon, the first military expedition of the '15 was an attempt by John Campbell of Glenlyon, leading the men of Breadalbane, to raise Argyll to the Jacobite cause. The attempt was largely unsuccessful, and nearly led to a Campbell civil war, but it did manage to isolate Argyll from the rest of Scotland (at least by land).

As for the '45, James Campbell of Ardkinglas was a notable instigator, although he was too old to take part in the action.