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A rare and possibly unique set of ivory and gold mounted bagpipesHugh MacPherson, Edinburgh image 1
A rare and possibly unique set of ivory and gold mounted bagpipesHugh MacPherson, Edinburgh image 2
A rare and possibly unique set of ivory and gold mounted bagpipesHugh MacPherson, Edinburgh image 3
A rare and possibly unique set of ivory and gold mounted bagpipesHugh MacPherson, Edinburgh image 4
Lot 503Y

A rare and possibly unique set of ivory and gold mounted bagpipes
Hugh MacPherson, Edinburgh

29 – 30 August 2012, 11:00 BST
Edinburgh

Sold for £8,750 inc. premium

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A rare and possibly unique set of ivory and gold mounted bagpipes

Hugh MacPherson, Edinburgh
Of ebonised wood with Macpherson tartan covered gortex zipper bag, half mounted in gilt 9ct gold with ivory mounts, the drone caps, stocks and drone ferrules, tuning slides, chanter sole, mouthpiece all in 9ct gold with interlaced zoomorphic Pictish designs, hallmarked, Edinburgh Hugh Macpherson, 1961, the chanter stamped ' Macpherson , Edinburgh' and near the sole 'Scotland', together with a second red bag cover with gold braid, contained within a gold anodised aluminium flight case, together with copy of book 1 and 2 of the 'Edcath collection of Highland bagpipe music and Drum settings' published by Hugh Macpherson.

Footnotes

Provenance
These pipes are the property of the family of Hugh Macpherson. Born in 1907 in Sutherland, Scotland, Hugh Macpherson grew up in the villages of Lothbeg and Rodart where his passion for Scottish and Highland culture was inspired. Mr Macpherson's interest in piping began at an early age when he began studying under Willie Mackay at the Rodart Public School as a child. However, this interest was allowed to significantly flourish upon his acceptance of a place at the Sutherland Technical College.

Later in 1924, despite his desire to join the Royal Air Force, he moved to Ontario, Canada with his parents. Here he entered a career in the bank and accounting before he embarked upon transferring his love of piping into a commercial enterprise. Whilst in Canada he and his brother started an import business and when Mr Macpherson returned to Scotland in 1945, his brother remained behind to run the shop. Upon his return to Scotland he settled in Edinburgh and became a town councillor and later Lord Provost of Edinburgh. All the while his interest in piping and Scottish culture remained insatiable and he helped to organise a Scottish clan gathering in 1951, amongst other notable events. Mr Macpherson's life story was published in 1979 in his autobiography "The Wandering Highlander".

These pipes were made for Hugh Macpherson personally by his company and used by him on many occasions. They were created and tuned by Jimmy Tweedie with Willie Bryson as the foreman and the gold mounts made by Dalman & Narborough in Birmingham. The pipes also appear on the album cover of "Piobaireachd: The Classical Music of the Highland Bagpipe illustrated by Seumas MacNeill and John MacFadyen".

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