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RARE Estate antique VICTORIAN-EDWARDIAN late 19th Century, Early 20th Century

SCOTTISH TROPHY PIN

Scots white Grouse Claw Pin

---Unique!! White Grouse Claw from a hunt, Hand crafted Trophy Pin. This was found on a trip to Scotland, at an antique store on Dundas Street, Edinburgh New Town.

---Great pin for hat, scarf, kilt -- soft off-white banded with silver adorned with an applied thistle

---Old style open C-clasp, held by the cuff and the "ring".

---See ruler shots -- Ideal for your hunter!!!

-----This white grouse claw Trophy Brooch comes from Scottish tradition during the Victorian era. Scottish men would pin them on their kilts and plaids for good luck, particularly wearing them on game hunting trips. Women wore them on shawls and cloaks. Earliest brooches like this one were made with very skinny feet and later versions were fatter and wider. The trophy from a successful hunt portended future success.

-----Most were made from the ptarmigan grouse, The word ptarmigan comes from the Scottish Gaelic tàrmachan, literally croaker. The ice-tolerant bird --- colorful in warm seasons, white in winter --- breeds in the highest mountains of the Highlands of Scotland on the Arctic-like landscape there.

-----The foot brooches are often adorned with gemstones or colored glass, and some have additional embellishments [Note: like the thistle and ring on this one].

-----Grouse claws were also distributed as Mizpah brooches (typically with an engraving of two hearts with arrow through them on the back). “Mizpah” is a Biblical term roughly meaning “God watch over us while we’re apart.” The jewelry was given as a sign of love and remembrance during long separations. (Gosh, could anything be more romantic than receiving a taxidermied bird foot upon your lover’s departure? But it sure was considered romantic in the Victorian era!)

Victorians were inspired by the romantic imagery of the Scottish Highlands, ever since Victoria bought Balmoral and made Scotland a fashionable destination. What attracted these first tourists were the 'unspoilt' mountains, glens and lochs. There were no smoky factory towns to spoil the view. Of course, the reason the Highlands looked so unspoiled and empty was that most people who once lived there had been forced out by the Highland Clearances.

Expect typical evidence of age, handling, storage, perhaps a dight of tarnish or dust in the nooks and crannies, left as found for new owner

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PLEASE READ ENTIRE LISTING & VIEW ALL PHOTOS

Ask questions, Sold As-Is, No returns.

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We'd love to see someone adopt and enjoy!

We are a smoke-free home with a hypoallergenic dog (Standard Poodle) – We usually mail w/in a day or two of payment, but have 5-10 day handling for health reasons, but if you need sooner LET US KNOW right away, we will do our best to accommodate if we can

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---We combine shipping where safe to do so. Internationals, we use Ebay Global Shipping only. Many of our items are from an old Yankee New England Maine Family estate We are just plain folks looking to move things forward, not dealers, not experts, we do our best to describe but might miss something. Ask questions.

---USE PHOTOS: Pictures are part of the description. Be aware that camera flash and your color monitor can cause color difference –-Remember pics are often closeups and thus exaggerated, so use photos with ruler or coin AND/OR the description for better estimate of actual size

---Used Items: Expect typical evidence of use wear handling and/or storage. Ignore any vintage pricing.

—We’re old, moving things forward, so no returns

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