The world's oldest authentic tartan, which was submerged in a peat bog for more than 500 years, has been recreated and is now available to consumers.
Glen Affric tartan, named after the Highland region where it was discovered in the 1980s, underwent dye analysis and radiocarbon testing last year and was found to have been made between 1500 and 1600. did. Researchers determined that it was outdoor work clothing.
The 21-by-17-inch weathered wool fabric was the centerpiece of V&A Dundee's Tartan exhibition, which explores textiles' extensive footprint. It has now been reconstructed by House of Edgar, a Scottish tartan manufacturer and distributor, in collaboration with tartan historians. The first batch of fabric sold out in five days.
“The significance of the Glen Affric tartan has undoubtedly been huge, both to the tartan world and to Scottish tradition,” designer Emma Wilkinson said in an email. “It was very impressive to see that tartan still exists in this form.”
The tartan is owned by Emma Wilkinson, designer at House of Edgar, and Peter McDonald, head of research and collections at the Scottish Tartan Authority. Photo: V&A Dundee and Edgar House.
But first, I had to decipher the cross pattern, thread count, and color. Following initial research carried out by the National Museums of Scotland, the testing process, which took more than six months, confirmed the use of green, red, yellow and brown colors, all extracted from organic materials such as wood and wood. It has been confirmed that. madder.
“This historic piece is not as uniform in design as today's tartans,” Wilkinson said, noting that the Scottish Tartan Authority's work would need to be carefully translated into a digital system. “We arrived at a symmetrical tartan design with a yarn count derived from the original and dyed the yarn specifically for this tartan to ensure a flawless finish.”
The result is a design that is carefully tailored to faithfully recreate the fabric's historical patterns and colors while ensuring it works for modern consumers. Tartans are available as kilts or accessories, including those from House of Edgar's Seventeen Eighty Three Collection. It is named after the year in which the company's founder, Alexander McNaughton, first established a small spinning mill to process wool.
Textiles from this region, especially woolen ones, decompose rapidly in the soil, so few survive for more than a few centuries. However, the hypoxic and acidic nature of peat bogs makes them excellent conservation environments, as evidenced by the large number of bog bodies found throughout northern Europe.
This further increases the value of Glen Affric tartan. “The richness of the colors, the quality of the threads and the way the weave suggests that this fabric had some status at the time,” Wilkinson said.
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