Pitlessie Fair Horse Paniers

 

Replica of Pannier by Alisdair Davidson from the painting 'Pitlessie Fair' by David Wilkie

Replica of Pannier by Alisdair Davidson from the painting ‘Pitlessie Fair’ by David Wilkie

In the bottom left corner of the painting ‘Pitlessie Fair’ by David Wilkie are some horse panniers which were used to carry china to the fair.

The painting itself is in the National Galleries of Scotland and was painted in 1804 but in the 1990’s Alisdair Davidson was asked to make a replica of them for the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh where they were creating a reconstruction of the painting in the Early People’s Gallery.

Alisdair said this was not an exact replica because in the painting they had rounded bases but the museum asked him to make them flat so that they would sit upright without falling. You can see the original painting here.

Info from interviews with Alisdair Davidson in 2013

by Julie Gurr

This article is filed under Histories