West
The west of Scotland extends from Wigtownshire in the south, along Scotland\'s intricate west coastline to Sutherland in the north. Basketwork ranges from agricultural in the south, to crofting and fishing baskets along the west coast northwards. Many baskets in regional collections today are from the Western Isles rather than the mainland. East coast fishing became increasingly dominant in the second half of the 19th century, as well as the dominance of Lowland style fishing over small scale crofting-fishing further north, which may be why there are also far fewer fishing related baskets in much of this region.
What we know about Calf Muzzles
On the west coast of Scotland muzzles woven from willow were put on calves to prevent them from suckling for a while. Often a farmer or crofter may only have one cow and if it had a calf suckling …Continue reading “What we know about Calf Muzzles”
The Hope MacDougall Collection, Dunollie Castle, Oban
By Stephanie Bunn A fortuitous meeting at the Fisheries Museum in Anstruther led to a very quick decision to visit Dunollie Castle and the Hope MacDougall Collection in Oban. Catherine Gillies, long term manager, keeper and general champion of the …Continue reading “The Hope MacDougall Collection, Dunollie Castle, Oban”
Traveller Basket-makers
One of the least known groups of basket-makers in Scotland are the Travelling people. We know from historical accounts by authors such as Timothy Neat and from the School of Scottish Studies Archives that, alongside working as tinsmiths and making …Continue reading “Traveller Basket-makers”
Dumfries Museum by Julie Gurr
Earlier this year I arranged to view baskets that were held by Dumfries Museum. When I told them about the research on basketry being done by the Scottish Basketmakers’ Circle the staff at the museum were extremely helpful and collected …Continue reading “Dumfries Museum by Julie Gurr”
