Fishwives Murlins/Top Creels/Bow Creels/Arm Creels

These are baskets used by fishwives of the east coast along with their back creels or rips. They were used to display a sample of fish to customers and usually to store a board and knife for gutting the fish. In the areas around Arbroath and Montrose where rips were used, the basket used had a handle so that it could be carried on the arm and was know as an arm creel or bow creel. In other areas of the East coast the basket was usually carried on top of the back creel and the handles were incorporated into the sides of the basket. Both styles of basket were sometimes known as a murlin.