A fixed-pin penannular-style plaid brooch with thistle motif. Brooches with large movable central pins were near universal as garment fasteners in the Iron Age, although the design was heartily adopted and elaborated by the peoples of Scotland and Ireland in the centuries between 700 and 900AD.
The thistle has been a national symbol of Scotland since at least the time of James III. As the Renaissance took hold of Scotland, the thistle became an important decorative motif throughout the country, coming to represent the picturesque and hardy qualities of the Scottish landscape and people. This brooch is intended to evoke the confidence of medieval, Renaissance and modern Scotland altogether.
This is a large brooch, 124mm long and 80mm wide – ideal for use with our fly plaids, or upon a shawl. The plaid brooch was traditionally a decorative weight, to keep the plaid attached to the wearer, as well as to show off the status of its wearer.
