Who Made the Turreted Brooches of Argyll? Nacken and Elite Silver Craftwork

Citation

Ramsay R (2021) Who Made the Turreted Brooches of Argyll? Nacken and Elite Silver Craftwork. Scottish Historical Review, 100 (3), pp. 455-468. https://doi.org/10.3366/shr.2021.0540

Abstract
During the 1500s the distinctive turreted brooches of Lochbuie, Lorn and Ugadale were produced for the Argyll families Maclaine, MacDougall and Mackay. Unusual in style by comparison with other brooches of the time, they are stylistically similar as a group. Around 1730 an inscription was added to the Lochbuie brooch stating that it was made by a ‘Tinker’. This paper examines the style, skills, materials and techniques involved in itinerant silversmithing in order to evaluate the claim that the three brooches were made by ‘Tinkers’, otherwise known as Nacken. Drawing on elements of art historical, ethnographic and archaeological research, the paper challenges existing assumptions about itinerant silversmithing.

Keywords
Scotland; early modern; turreted brooches; Nacken; Gypsy/Traveller

Journal
Scottish Historical Review: Volume 100, Issue 3