Scottish Thistle Penannular Plaid Brooch

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. Plaid brooches attach to the shoulder plaid to act as weights to keep them in place. 

Completely designed, cast and finished in our Glasgow workshops, cast in 100% lead-free pewter.