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The Celtic Pewter Brand

The Celtic Pewter Collection was established in 1998, and has rapidly become a leading brand for quality pewter throughout the World. The Collection was created using unique designs, which are only manufactured by Ultimate Creations. The Celtic Pewter Collection offers a variety of traditional Scottish and Executive Pewter Giftware, using a range of designs which can be modified to individual customer specifications.

Every item of Celtic Pewter is Hand Made in Scotland, and is manufactured from the highest quality Lead-Free Pewter. The Celtic Pewter and Gryphon Logo are applied to all the giftware in the range. Each item of Celtic Pewter is supplied in a Presentation Box, and is accompanied by a ‘History of Pewter’ Leaflet.

The entire Celtic Pewter Collection lends itself to use as keepsakes for major events, conference and exhibition giveaways or to use as corporate gifts and promotional incentives.

The Celtic Pewter Collection can be supplied with a variety of pewter insets, emblems, tartan backgrounds, semi-precious stones and even real fishing flies. Celtic Pewter can also be personalised with a customer's, own design of inset, which would be sculpted and cast to meet their exact requirements. Also available are a range of Scottish and Irish Clan Crest designs, and there is even a selection of Tartan Fishing Flies, which can add further personalisation to represent our customers' own Clan connection. The range can also be supplied with Celtic Cross or Celtic Rope Inserts, in Brass or Pewter.

Celtic Pewter also supplies a range of Friendship Cups, Quaich Bowls, Lapel Pins, Key Rings, Tie Pins, Tie Slides/ Bars, Cufflinks, Cufflink Boxes and Lidded Pewter Tankards. Through Ultimate Creations, Cox the Saddler Ltd. offers a range of Pewter Sculptures and badges, from the renowned Pewter Artists Tony Brown and Terry Brown.

The History of Pewter

Thanks to the lack of written records covering the period known as the Dark Ages, there is something of a veil over the inception and history of Pewter manufacture and usage in Europe. We do know that by the 14th Century A.D. pewter was being widely used in place of wood and pottery for tableware and other household purposes.

The composition of early Roman pewterware was variable to say the least, but it commonly contained as much as 20% to 30% lead. There are serious problems connected with using pewter objects with high lead content, as the toxicity of the lead makes them undesirable for use as drinking vessels or liquid measures. Lead content also causes pewter to tarnish readily and to blacken with age. It is this factor which gave rise to the image of pewter as a ‘dull grey metal’. Furthermore, as lead is both cheaper and more dense than tin, it gives a false appearance of value for money. Throughout the Middle Ages, it was one of the main aims of the Pewterers’ Craft Guilds, to limit the lead content of the metal they used by imposing penalties on Members who debased their alloys.

Craft Guilds sprang up throughout Europe, as craftsmen banded together to protect their craft secrets, to uphold production standards and to regulate social conduct. Typical of the disciplines imposed on the Members of a Guild, is the system employed by the Worshipful Company of Pewterers of London. The Company was formed in 1348, and received a Charter granted by the Sovereign in 1473, which empowered them to seize and destroy pewter below a certain standard and also to impose fines and other penalties upon its Members for failing to uphold the Craft. From 1503, an Act of Parliament required Members of the Company to register their ‘Touchmarks’, which were ‘to be recorded on Tablets of Pewter’ and kept at the Hall of the Guild. The use of a Maker’s Touchmark on his products served not only to safeguard the Crafsman, but also enable the public to have confidence in the quality of the product.

The Association of British Pewter Craftsmen has also adopted the device of ‘Touchmarks’ or Trade Marks, which are restricted to their Members, and indicate compliance with the Standards and Objects of the Association. These Registered Designs (which may appear on literature and labels, as well as stamped on individual Pewterware) supplement any Maker’s identifying mark or Tade Mark and form an additional Guarantee of Quality. Another concern of the Association of British Pewter Craftsmen, is to regulate the purity of their alloys. They are re-enforcing their efforts, by supporting the introduction of National Standards to define the composition of modern pewter alloys.

Throughout its long history, both the designs of pewterware and the precise composition of the alloys used to make them have varied from time to time. At one stage it was common to distinguish between ‘Fine Pewter’, which was an alloy of tin hardened with copper in definite and recognisable proportions, and ‘Common Pewter’, which contained a proportion of lead. In Britain in the middle of the 16th Century a 'Fine Pewter' with a bright finish was developed, which was an alloy of tin with a small quantity of antimony and no lead. This became known as 'Britannia Metal'. It was harder than ordinary pewter and amenable to spinning techniques.

The last few decades of the 20th Century, saw a remarkable resurgence of interest in pewter. Its production moved from the small scale of the past, into a modern industry. Long established pewterers are expanding and modernising their methods to this day, whilst upholding their traditions of fine workmanship. New entrants into the industry are introducing new marketing and manufacturing methods, in order to cater for the wishes of a new generation of purchaser.

The History of the Quaich

The Quaich ( which is pronounced "quake", and is derived from the Gaelic word "cuach") is part of Scotland's heritage. The Quaich is a uniquely Scottish invention, which does not seem to appear in the social histories of any other European country. The Quaich is a traditional Scottish drinking vessel, shallow and circular, with a pair of small lug handles projecting horizontally from opposite sides. From these, a guest would be offered a cup of welcome but also a farewell drink, often a dram of whisky.

It is known that some travellers carried a quaich with them in their travels. They were used for brandy as well as whisky but there were larger quaichs too - these were used for ale. The largest surviving examples have a capacity of around 1 1/2 pints. It is thought that the earliest Quaich were scallop shells, used to take drams of whisky in the Highlands and Islands, as like the shells, quaichs are traditionally wide and shallow. The current prevailing, distinctive shape has changed little in over four centuries.

Some early Quaich were made from wood. The making of these wooden Quaich was an art by which the bowl was either turned from solid wood or built up using tiny staves. The best Quaichs, which are considered to be masterpieces of woodwork, were built up from light and dark wood staves and bound with withies or metal bands.Alternating woods such as plane and laburnum were 'coopered' together and also 'feathered' into each other; this was a technique in which small slivers of wood were split away from the sides of the staves and slotted into equivalent parings cut in the opposite direction.

The centre of the Quaich was often decorated with a silver coin, or an engraved disc with clan emblem, initials, family motto or phrase such as, 'squab as e', 'drink up'. The disc served to mask and seal the centre of the bowl where the points of the staves met. Today it is the creative use of the disc space and the decoration of the handles which makes the Quaich so collectable.

In the late 17th century, Quaichs started to be made in metal (pewter or silver and gold). The first mention of silver quaichs is in the 1660s. As silversmiths began to create Quaichs, they engraved radiating lines on the bowl, in imitation of the staves of wooden Quaichs and horizontal rings to represent the withy bindings. They also copied the lug handles.

Quaichmaking was a highly regarded profession in 17th century Scotland. Quaichmakers almost certainly made all sorts of wooden eating and drinking vessels, but took the name of their profession from their best work, in the same way that workers in silver and gold called themselves goldsmiths.

Quaichs became such a must-have item that the well-to-do had to have them made from precious metals. This ultimately brought about the change in shape of the Quaich. As wooden Quaichs are solid and thick at the bottom, an equivalent in silver or gold would have been too heavy to sip from with decorum. Therefore the new Quaich were made from sheet-silver, giving sides of a constant thickness. This allowed metal Quaichs to copy the outer form of wooden Quaichs, but made the inner bowl much deeper.

The lugs or handles of Quaich were occasionally covered with silver. It was the fashion in 17th century Scotland to place your initials anywhere you could: on your silver plate, your furniture, ceilings and the panelling of your house. It therefore followed that they should also appear on the lugs of your quaich.

A couple of interesting variants which have appeared during the course of the history of the Quaich are the following: In 1745, the Quaich travelled from Edinburgh to Derby with the Scottish Army and Bonnie Prince Charlie. At the bottom of these military Quaich was glass, so that the drinker could keep watch on his enemies. Another Quaich had a double glass bottom in which was kept a lock of hair, so that the owner could drink to his lady. In 1589 King James VI of Scotland gave Anne of Norway a Quaich or "Loving Cup" as a wedding gift. In ancient times, during the Celtic period, it is thought that the Druids may have filled the Quaich with blood from the heart of sacrificed humans.

These days, the Quaich is often used as a favour at Scottish weddings, being gifted to all at the top table. A perfect symbol of the shared love and partnership between their hosts. In Kilmuir in Scotland, there is a wooden quaich which was formerly used as a font and so the Quaich has become a traditional baptismal gift. They are also occasionally given to celebrate the birth of a bairn and to share the love and celebration of that new life.

The Quaich has a special place in the heart of all who know something of its history. It is a prized possession of many people who have an association with or love for Scotland. It will always be remembered for its traditional use as a visitor's welcome or farewell by proud clan chiefs, worthy merchants and humble crofters alike and treasured for its simple but beautiful shape and friendly purpose.

Robert Burns and How to Celebrate Burns Night by Cox the Saddler

Poet and balladeer, Scotland's favourite son and champion of the common people. Each year on January 25th, the great man's presumed birthday, Scots everywhere take time out to honour a national icon. Whether it's a full-blown Burns Supper or a quiet night of reading poetry, Burns Night is a night for all Scots.

Ye see yon birkie, ca’d a lord,
Wha struts, and stares, and a’ that;
Tho hundreds worship at his word,
He’s but a coof for a’ that:
For a’ that, and a’ that,
His ribband, star, an' a' that:
The man o' independent mind
He looks an' laughs at a' that.
- "A Man's a Man For A' That"

This most famous song of liberty and independence gives us an enduring image of Robert Burns. It’s the provocative and defiant Burns, who laughs in the face of the ruling classes and who openly claims that he, and his people, are as good, if not better, than any of them. It’s a sentiment that has characterised the verses of many of Scotland’s best poets, from Blind Harry’s tales of William Wallace to Hugh MacDiarmid’s 20th Century rants. It’s the same sentiment that packs the punch in the Declaration of Arbroath: that although the Scots are poor and harried by more powerful neighbours, what they should always strive for is freedom and independence.

These are the types of images that make a bard a bard, a champion of the common people. But Burns’s own life wasn’t always consistent with his poetry.

Robert Burns was born on January 25, 1759 in the village of Alloway near Ayr. He came from a relatively poor, tenant-farmer background, although he received a good education and read avidly as a youngster. It is during his years as a teenager and young man working on farms that he developed some of the passions that would colour the rest of his life - poetry, nature, women and drink.

In 1785 Burns met perhaps the most famous and long-suffering of his female companions, Jean Armour. The union was hotly contested by Jean’s father - until, that is, the poet received public acclaim. Burns, ever the romantic, planned to run away to Jamaica with his lover, but his plan was foiled eventually by the advent of his own fame in Scotland.

Fame, but not necessarily fortune, followed in the wake of Burns’s first publication: "Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect" (Kilmarnock Edition). The collection contains many of his best loved poems, including "The Cotter’s Saturday Night", "To a Mouse" and "To a Louse". Favourable reviews from the literati in Edinburgh drew him to the capital where another of the most enduring Burns myths was born: that of the ploughman poet. Burns’s poems complemented the growing literary taste for pastoral pleasures and the type of romanticism that would dominate the literary scene for the next century or so, and he learned to play on these notions to his own advantage.

Many, however, would contest the depiction of Burns as the "heaven-taught ploughman", an innocent whose poetic inspiration was pure and direct from the divine. Such accounts of Burns conveniently gloss over his high level of education, his familiarity with literary mores and his often radical political convictions.

Burns’s poetry at this time chopped and changed between English and Scots and this perhaps reflected his own ambivalent feelings towards the Edinburgh bourgeoisie. It was on his return to farming near Dumfries in 1788 that he penned his masterpiece in the Scots vernacular, "Tam O’Shanter" (1790). Around this time Burns was also contributing to the "The Scots Musical Museum" with immortal songs like "Auld Lang Syne" and "My Luve is Like a Red Red Rose".

In 1789 the poet became an Excise Officer, a fact that probably had many of his drinking partners choking on their ale and provided yet another of the contradictions that separated Burns’s life from his poetry. However, supporting his wife and family required funds, so Burns had to balance his increasingly radical political views with the practicalities of life. He remained an Excise Officer until his death, although he had enough humility to recognise the irony of his own situation in the poem "The De’ils Awa’ Wi’ The Exciseman", in which the whole community rejoices as the Devil appears to claim the local Excise Officer as his own.

Burns was prolific in poet output throughout most of his life and could barely write a shopping a list or letter without putting it in verse. In 1795 he sent his publisher "For a’ that and a’ that", a song which vocalised his support for the political radicalism which was beginning to infiltrate British society, especially through Thomas Paine’s controversial work, "The Rights of Man". Although these notions of equality and liberty were already sweeping through the western world in the light of the turmoil of both the French and American Revolutions, Burns’s poetry had always warmed to these ideals with a peculiarly Scottish lilt. After all, the rhetoric of freedom and equality had been prevalent in Scottish literature since the times of the Bruce and the Wallace. The Bard should always be seen in his national context: as the champion of the underdog in an underdog country.

How To Celebrate Burns Night

The Burns Supper is an institution of Scottish life, a night to celebrate the life and genius of the national Bard. Suppers can be everything from an informal gathering of friends to a huge, formal dinner full of pomp and circumstance. This running order covers all the key elements you need to plan and structure a Burns Supper that suits your intentions.

The dress code. This is usually formal, so for the gentlemen there is the choice of either DJ (with a tartan bow tie at least), Traditional Highland Dress (Kilt or Tartan Trews i.e. Trousers). Sporran complete with sporran flask from Dalvey Contemporary Classics range of course just in case a whisky top up is called for. For the ladies dress is a long black skirt or kilt, white blouse with ruffle or jabot, and tartan sash.

The running order for a traditional Burns Supper

Piping in the guests - A Burns Night calls for a piper to welcome guests. If you can't manage that, some traditional music will do nicely. For more formal events, the audience should stand to welcome arriving guests: the piper plays until the High Table is ready to be seated, at which point a round of applause is due.

Chairman's welcome - The Chairman warmly welcomes the assembled guests.

The Selkirk Grace - A short but important prayer to usher in the meal with a reading of The Selkirk Grace. Also known as 'Burns's Grace at Kirkcudbright.' Although the text is often printed in English, it is usually recited in Scots.

Piping in the Haggis - Guests should stand to welcome the dinner's star attraction, which should be delivered on a silver platter by a procession consisting of the chef, the piper and the person who will address the Haggis. A whisky-bearer should also arrive to ensure the toasts are well lubricated. During the procession, guests clap in time to the music until the Haggis reaches its destination at the table. The music stops and everyone is seated in anticipation of the address "To a Haggis".

Address to the Haggis - The reader now seizes their moment of glory by offering a fluent and entertaining rendition of "To a Haggis". The reader should have their knife poised at the ready. On cue ("His knife see Rustic-labour dight"), they cut the casing along its length, making sure to spill out some of the tasty gore within ("trenching its gushing entrails"). Warning: it is wise to have a small cut made in the haggis skin before it is piped in. Instances are recorded of top table guests being scalded by flying pieces of haggis when enthusiastic reciters omitted this precaution! The recital ends with the reader raising the Haggis in triumph during the final line ("Gie her a Haggis!"), which the audience greets with rapturous applause.

Toast to the Haggis - Prompted by the speaker, the audience now joins in the toast to the Haggis. Raise a glass and shout: "The Haggis!" Then it's time to serve the main course with its traditional companions, neeps and tatties. In larger events, the piper leads a procession carrying the opened Haggis out to the kitchen for serving; audience members should clap as the procession departs.

The meal - Dinner is served with some suitable background music. The sumptuous Bill o' Fare includes traditional cock-a-leekie soup before the main course ("Haggis wi' bashit neeps an' champit tatties"), followed by a sweet course of "clootie dumplin" (a pudding prepared in a linen cloth or cloot) or "Typsy Laird" (a Scottish sherry trifle). Afterwards comes the cheese board, served with bannocks (traditional oat-cakes) and tea/ coffee/ malt whisky. Variations do exist: beef lovers can serve the haggis, neeps and tatties as a starter with roast beef or steak pie as the main dish. Vegetarians can of course choose vegetarian haggis, while vegaquarians could opt for a seafood main course such as Cullen Skink.

The drink - Liberal lashings of wine or ale should be served with dinner and it's often customary to douse the Haggis with a "wee splash of whisky sauce", which, with true Scottish understatement, is whisky neat. After the meal, it's time for connoisseurs to compare notes on the wonderful selection of malts served by the generous host.

The first entertainment - The nervous first entertainer follows immediately after the meal. Often it will be a singer or musician performing Burns songs such as "My Luve is Like a Red Red Rose", "Rantin', Rovin' Robin", "John Anderson, my jo" or "Ae Fond Kiss, and Then We Sever". Alternatively it could be a moving recital of a Burns poem, with perennial preference for "Tam O'Shanter", "Holly Willie's Prayer", "To a Louse", "Address to the Unco Guid" or "For a' that and a' that".

The Immortal Memory - The keynote speaker takes the stage to deliver a spell-binding oratory on the life of Robert Burns. His literary genius, his politics, his highs and lows, his human frailty and - most importantly - his nationalism are the enduring themes. The speech must bridge the dangerous chasm between serious intent and sparkling wit, painting a colourful picture of Scotland's beloved Bard. The speaker concludes with a heart-felt toast: "To the Immortal Memory of Robert Burns!"

The second entertainment - More celebration of Burns' work, preferably a poem or song to complement the earlier entertainment.

The toast to the Lassies - The humorous highlight of any Burns Night comes in this toast, which is designed to praise the role of women in the world today. This should be done by selective quotation from Burns's works and should crescendo towards a positive note. The toast concludes: "To the Lassies!"

The third entertainment - Further indulgence in the works of the great man.

The reply to the toast to the Lassies - In mixed proceedings, a woman has the right of reply to the men's toast. Thanking the toast-master for his kind words is a necessary - and some times strained - formality, but the response offers the chance to upstage the men, again through cunning use of examples from Burns's life and works.

Final entertainment - As the last drops of malt are drained, a final entertainer bravely faces the (usually restless) audience.

Vote of thanks - The host now climbs to his potentially unsteady feet to thank everyone who has contributed to a wonderful evening… and to suggest that taxis will arrive shortly.

Auld Lang Syne - The chairman closes the proceedings by inviting guests to stand and belt out a rousing rendition of the famous tune. The company joins hands and sings as one, having made sure to brush up on those difficult later lines.

Here are the words in case you have forgotten them;
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And auld lang syne?
CHORUS:
For auld lang syne, my dear,
For auld lang syne,
We'll tak a cup of kindness yet,
For auld lang syne!
And surely ye'll be your pint-stowp,
And surely I'll be mine,
And we'll tak a cup o kindness yet,
For auld lang syne!
We twa hae run about the braes,
And pou'd the gowans fine,
But we've wander'd monie a weary fit,
Sin auld lang syne.
We twa hae paidl'd in the burn
Frae morning sun till dine,
But seas between us braid hae roar'd
Sin auld lang syne.
And there's a hand my trusty fiere,
And gie's a hand o thine,
And we'll tak a right guid-willie waught,
For auld lang syne

Optional extras - Lost Burns manuscripts: Some Burns Night suppers include a Lost Manuscript reading, where a participant with literary aspirations recites from a fictitious long-lost musing of the great man on a new subject.

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