Tartan (pronounced tahr-tn)
(1) A woolen or worsted cloth woven with stripes
of different colours and widths crossing at right angles,
worn chiefly by the Scottish Highlanders, many clans now having its own
distinctive design.
(2) A design now often identified by the name of
the clan wearing it and most associated with the kilt.
(3) A generalized descriptor for any similar
(sometimes called plaid) design.
(4) A single-masted vessel used in the
Mediterranean, usually with a lateen sail (also spelled as tartane).
(5) The trade name of a synthetic resin, used for
surfacing tracks etc.
1490-1500: Of uncertain origin, apparently a blend of the Middle English tartaryn (rich material) from the Middle French tartarin (Tartar cloth) and the Middle French tiretaine (strong coarse fabric; linsey-woolsey; cloth of mixed fibers) from the Old French tiret (kind of cloth), from tire (oriental cloth of silk) (and as the French tartane from the Italian tartana, of uncertain origin) from the Medieval Latin tyrius (material from Tyre), from the Classical Latin Tyrus (Tyre). The origin of the name as applied to the small ship most associated with the Mediterranean, dates from seventeenth century French, probably the Provençal tartana (falcon, buzzard), it being common practice in the era to name ships after birds. As an adjective meaning "design with a pattern of bars or stripes of color crossing one another at right angles", use began circa 1600. The etymology of the fabric is certainly murky. Most agree about the influence of the Old French tertaine but some trace the origin of that not to Latin via Italian but rather the Old Spanish tiritaña (a fine silk fabric) from tiritar (to rustle). The spelling of tartan must have been influenced in Middle English by tartaryn from the Old French tartarin from Tartare (“Tartar," the people of Central Asia). Tartan & tartanization are nouns, tartanize & tartaning are verbs and tartaned is a verb & adjective; the noun plural is tartans.
Despite the perception of many (encouraged by the depictions in popular culture), tartan in the sense of specific color & pattern combinations attached to specific clans is something of recent origin. Tartan (breacan (pɾʲɛxkən) in Scots Gaelic) is a patterned cloth consisting of criss-crossed, horizontal and vertical bands in multiple colours. The word plaid is now often used interchangeably with tartan (particularly in North America and when not associated with anything Scottish (especially kilts)), but technically (and always in Scotland), a plaid is a large piece of tartan cloth, worn as a type of kilt or large shawl although it’s also used to describe a blanket. During the disputes between England and Scotland, the wearing of tartan became a political expression and the Dress Act (1746) was part of the campaign to suppress the warrior clans north of the border; it banned tartan and other aspects of Gaelic culture. The law was repealed in 1782 and tartan was soon adopted as both the symbolic national dress of Scotland and in imagery more generally.
Although there’s now an industry devoted to the tartans of the clans, the specific association of patterns with clans and families began only in the mid-nineteenth century. This history was both technological and economic deterministic. Unlike some fabrics, tartans were produced by local weavers for local sale, using only the natural dyes available in that geographical area and patterns were just designs chosen by the buyer. It was only with a broader availability of synthetic dyes that many patterns were created these began (somewhat artificially) to become associated with Scottish clans, families, or institutions wishing to emphasize their Scottish heritage. The heritage was usually real but not often specific to a particular tartan, the mid-nineteenth century interest in the fabrics a kind of manufactured nostalgia. There are many modern tartans on sale, the color combinations and patterns of which are chosen for market appeal rather than any relationship to clan identity or any other historic link: Among the purists, these collectively are called "the clan McGarish". The phrase "Tartan Tory" does not refer to Scottish members of the Conservative Party (a once prolific species which has for decades been listed as "threatened" and may already be functionally extinct) but to the faction of the Scottish National Party (SNP) which is associated with cultural nostalgia rather than radical nationalist politics
High-priced plaid
1955 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing (W198) trimmed in blue-grey plaid.
Buyers of the Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing (W198 1954-1957) had the choice of seats covered in leather or plaid cloth. In the years since, many Gullwings originally fitted with plaid upholstery were re-trimmed in leather during refurbishment or restoration, partly because the leather was thought to have more of a allure but also because for decades fabrics exactly matching what was available in the 1950s had become unobtainable ("unobtainium" thus the preferred industry term). However, in 2018, in what was said to be a response to demand, Daimler announced bolts replicating exactly the original three designs (blue-gray, red-green and green-beige color) would again be available as a factory part-number. Manufactured to the 1955 specification using an odor-neutral wool yarn woven into a four-ply, double weave twill, it’s claimed to be a “very robust material”. In the era, the blue-gray fabric was the most popular, fitted to 80% of 300SLs not trimmed in leather while the red-green and green-beige combinations were requested respectively only by 14 & 6% of buyers. The price (US$229 per yard) is indicative of the product’s niche market but for those restoring a 300 SL to its original appearance, it's a bargain.
The part-numbers: Blue-Grey: A 000 983 44 86 / 5000, Red-Green: A 000 983 44 86 / 3000 & Green-Beige: A 000 983 44 86 / 6000.
No comments:
Post a Comment