Checking up on a tartan tradition

Published on Tuesday 10 July 2007 00:26

TARTAN is renowned across the world as a symbol of Scotland and is of huge value both to the economy and tourism.

Rangers and Celtic football clubs both have one, as does the Los Angeles Police Department and the iconic cartoon character Scrooge McDuck.

You can find it on every high street in Scotland and even on the moon.

It is associated with the height of fashion and tourism tat and it was also once outlawed. More recently, it took centre-stage at the Scissor Sisters' tartan-clad appearance at T in the Park.

Yet despite its significance, there is no official register of the thousands of tartans in existence. However, by next spring, that will change.

Jim Mather, the enterprise minister, yesterday gave official backing to the idea to "protect, promote and preserve one of Scotland's most iconic and valuable assets".

"Tartan's importance to Scotland cannot be overestimated," he said. "It is deeply embedded in Scottish culture and is an internationally recognised symbol of Scotland.

"So it is only right that the Scottish government protects, promotes and preserves one of our most valuable assets for generations to come."

He said the Court of the Lord Lyon, the heraldic authority for Scotland, and the National Archives of Scotland will play a crucial role in setting up, operating, maintaining and facilitating access to a register.

"I hope the work on a register will continue to be backed by industry and political consensus. And I hope the register will become a focus for authenticating all the superb varieties of tartan we design and produce."

Jamie McGrigor, a Highlands and Islands Conservative MSP, put forward the idea for a register of tartans in a private member's bill in the last parliament and received cross-party support.

Described by the MSP as a "trademark" for Scotland, he said a register would preserve the thousands of designs currently in existence. "It is vital that we keep Scotland as the mecca for tartan worldwide and this national register will go a long way in helping to achieve this," he said.

Details of how the project will work have still to be finalised, although it is thought a panel will be formed and will register only official tartans.

The international tartan index of the Crieff-based Scottish Tartans Authority (STA) is seen as the "register in waiting", with over 4,500 tartans listed, although a smaller list also exists in Dunkeld.

Although registration would not be compulsory, it is seen as a way of ensuring tartans are unique and authentic.

The STA advises designers of new tartans to go through the process so that a dated record of their tartan is kept. This can be legally significant if someone were to copy a design, produce a tartan of confusing similarity or try to record a tartan of the same name.

Brian Wilton, the STA's director of operations, said: "There is a huge amount of confusion at present. When a new tartan comes in we compare it to all others in our database to ensure it is unique.

"If there are some that have slipped through the net one can run into problems as someone could register a tartan which is far too close to an existing one."

He said the register will not be an "arbiter of taste", but will record genuine tartans which have fulfilled the recording criteria: "That is, that the design is unique and they are not making a claim in their name that cannot be substantiated."

He added: "I think what the new register will try to do is do away with tartans that make false claims and hoodwink the public.

"There has been a spate over the last few years of Irish surname tartans, almost the case of 'have you got an O'Flaherty tartan?', 'Not at the moment but come back after lunch'.

"In these cases, either deliberately or inadvertently, the tartan gets sold to all the O'Flaherties in the world and they are under the impression that the design is as ancient as [king of Ireland] King Brian Boru. It gives the industry such a bad name."

Blair Urquhart, an expert on tartan who runs an online design company, said the new register will effectively allow a tartan design to be copyrighted.

He said the industry has changed from even a decade ago.

"If you thought then of inventing a new tartan you would have Rob Roy turning in his grave," he said.

"There was a feeling that there were the clan tartans and that was it, and tradition was sacrosanct.

"There are now ones coming all the time and you want to make sure it's not the same as everyone else's."

IN WAR AND PEACE

THE word "tartan" refers to the way the thread is woven to make the cloth: each thread passed over two threads then under two threads, and so on. The use of different coloured yarns crossing each other distinguishes tartans from checkered pattern fabrics.

The oldest piece of tartan dates back to the 3rd century AD, found near Falkirk in an earthenware pot covering Roman coins.

After the Battle of Culloden in 1746, tartan was outlawed for 36 years, but its use was re-established by a later romantic movement concerned with reviving Scotland's past.

Sir Walter Scott urged all Highland chiefs to attend dressed in tartan finery.

A further boost was given by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert who liberally decorated Balmoral Castle with tartan.

There are thought to be more than 4,500 unique tartans and about 150 new designs come forward each year. Football teams, the mobile phone firm 02, the Hilton Hotel in Hong Kong and a number of whiskies all have their own tartan.

Alan Bean, the Apollo 12 pilot, left a piece of MacBean tartan on the moon in 1969. In 1942 Walt Disney designed the MacDuck tartan for Scrooge MacDuck, Donald's Scottish uncle.