Viewing Room
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ALAN BAILLIE
7th - 29th March 2025
'Celebrating the Sgian-dubh'
Sgianan-dubha (Gaelic) and jewellery from our Inverness-based silversmith.
'Celebrating the Sgian-dubh'
Sgianan-dubha (Gaelic) and jewellery from our Inverness-based silversmith.
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Roe Antler Sgian-dubh, sterling silver with antler, leather, wood and Sheffield steel blade, 22 x 3 x 3.5cm (overall dimensions)
ENDANGERED
In September 2024 The Times published an article, ‘Why Scotland’s traditional crafts are dying out’ featuring Alan Baillie and his sgian-dubhs. There are fewer than a dozen craftspeople still able to make the sgian-dubh in the traditional manner, including Inverness-based, Alan Baillie. He learned his craft from masters in Edinburgh, but has no apprentice, and so it is an opportunity not to be missed to hear him talk about his craft at the Castle Gallery - everyone is welcome. Artist’s Talk at 2pm on Friday 14th March in the Castle Gallery Alan creates his sgian-dubhs by first making the scabbard using two pieces of bog oak roughly the shape of the three-inch blade. He carves into the internal surfaces to accept the blade shape and then glues them together before hand finishing the scabbard to create a refined shape. The handle is carved to match the top of the scabbard. Those made with bog oak are usually finished with chequering or knot-work. Finally, the silver mounts of the tip, top mount of the scabbard and bezel are made and stones settings complete the knife. |
His blades are forged in Sheffield by a traditional company that dates to the C.18th. Alan uses locally sourced, 5000-year-old bog oak from Strathnairn and sterling silver to create heirloom sgian-dubhs in his studio near Inverness.
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Knot Work Sgian-dubh, sterling silver with bog oak, citrine and Sheffield steel blade, 20 x 3 x 1.5cm (overall dimensions)
Alan Baillie is a craftsman and silversmith of great integrity, making use of his remarkable skills and traditional methods to create works of art that can be worn including kilt pins, designer jewellery and sgian-dubhs.
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Thoughts on the Sgian-dubh
Wikipedia informs us:
The name comes from the Scottish Gaelic sgian-dubh, from sgian (‘knife’) and dubh (‘black’, also with a secondary meaning of ‘hidden’.)
It is curious therefore, on searching in Dwelly’s authoritative ‘Gaelic Dictionary’ from 1901 that there is no mention of the sgian-dubh – there are plenty of other references to different types of knives, but not the sgian-dubh. The conclusion must be drawn that, at that time, the sgian-dubh was not integral to the indigenous culture of the Highlands. Or maybe, that form of knife existed but without the nomenclature, sgian-dubh.
The National Museums of Scotland (online) catalogues 49 sgian-dubhs – the majority of which date from the mid C.19th and have military associations, with wooden hilts and regimental crests. The sgian-dubh was not regulation issue for the British Army and soldiers did not use them in the trenches. These sgian-dubhs were purchased privately, mostly by officers and pipers.
Wikipedia informs us:
The name comes from the Scottish Gaelic sgian-dubh, from sgian (‘knife’) and dubh (‘black’, also with a secondary meaning of ‘hidden’.)
It is curious therefore, on searching in Dwelly’s authoritative ‘Gaelic Dictionary’ from 1901 that there is no mention of the sgian-dubh – there are plenty of other references to different types of knives, but not the sgian-dubh. The conclusion must be drawn that, at that time, the sgian-dubh was not integral to the indigenous culture of the Highlands. Or maybe, that form of knife existed but without the nomenclature, sgian-dubh.
The National Museums of Scotland (online) catalogues 49 sgian-dubhs – the majority of which date from the mid C.19th and have military associations, with wooden hilts and regimental crests. The sgian-dubh was not regulation issue for the British Army and soldiers did not use them in the trenches. These sgian-dubhs were purchased privately, mostly by officers and pipers.
Bog Oak Sgian-dubh, sterling silver with bog oak and Sheffield steel blade, 20.5 x 3 x 1.25cm (overall dimensions)
After the Battle of Culloden, the final Disarming Act of 1746 sought to disarm the Highlanders and banned the wearing of Highland clothing, unless part of the British Army. With no work and no future, many young Highlanders and other Scots joined the British regiments and served throughout the growing empire. By the 1760’s Highland dress was no longer only associated with the rebel Jacobites but with the British Army as the uniform of the Scottish regiments. Their kilts and accoutrements, including the sgian-dubh, became an important part of their Scottish heritage. This was amplified during the reign of Queen Victoria with the romanticisation of the Highlands and all things Scottish.
The sgian-dubh is worn tucked into the top of the hose with only the upper portion of the hilt visible. There are no known portrait paintings depicting the sgian-dubh until the painting by Henry Raeburn in the early C.19th of Colonel Alistair Macdonald of Glengarry who is depicted with what are apparently two small knives, one handle below the other, in the top of his stocking. There is no historical evidence for the myth that the sgian-dubh was taken from a place of concealment and tucked into the hose when visiting a friend. Rather, the wearing of the sgian-dubh in the hose dates from the standardisation of Highland regimental dress in the C.19th.
The sgian-dubh is worn tucked into the top of the hose with only the upper portion of the hilt visible. There are no known portrait paintings depicting the sgian-dubh until the painting by Henry Raeburn in the early C.19th of Colonel Alistair Macdonald of Glengarry who is depicted with what are apparently two small knives, one handle below the other, in the top of his stocking. There is no historical evidence for the myth that the sgian-dubh was taken from a place of concealment and tucked into the hose when visiting a friend. Rather, the wearing of the sgian-dubh in the hose dates from the standardisation of Highland regimental dress in the C.19th.
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Detail of Sgian-dubh handles
Edward Burt in ‘Letters from a Gentleman in the North of England’ completed 1737 and published 1754 informs us: ‘some of them [the Highlanders] carry a sort of knife which they call a skeen-ochles, from its being concealed in the sleeve near the armpit’. Dwelly also references the ‘sgian-achlais’ in his dictionaries from 1901. The sgian-achlais had a blade slightly longer than the sgian-dubh and it was concealed under clothing, such as inside a doublet (short jacket). However, there is possibly only one historical example of this type of knife in existence – a curious lack of physical evidence!
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It has been posited that a practical hunting knife might also be the ancestor of the sgian-dubh. The gralloch was a purely practical 9” hunting knife sometimes accompanied by a 3” blade for more delicate butchering tasks, such as skinning, and it is this smaller knife that bears a similarity to the sgian-dubh.
It must be remembered that up until the C.19th in the Highlands of Scotland, almost every individual would have owned or carried a utilitarian knife for eating, and possibly for self-defence in the last resort. The early sgian-dubhs were often crudely made by local Scottish smiths, they were made with antler horn handles and were mounted in brass, with a simple leather sheath. The earliest example of a sgian-dubh held by the National Museums of Scotland dates to the late C.18th and has a crude wooden handle with a pewter pummel – it is a practical implement. From this example of a utilitarian knife the sgian-dubh evolved into a military and ceremonial weapon, to an item suitable for presentation at an award, to an essential part of the Highland kilt outfit i.e. from a weapon to an item of fashion.
It must be remembered that up until the C.19th in the Highlands of Scotland, almost every individual would have owned or carried a utilitarian knife for eating, and possibly for self-defence in the last resort. The early sgian-dubhs were often crudely made by local Scottish smiths, they were made with antler horn handles and were mounted in brass, with a simple leather sheath. The earliest example of a sgian-dubh held by the National Museums of Scotland dates to the late C.18th and has a crude wooden handle with a pewter pummel – it is a practical implement. From this example of a utilitarian knife the sgian-dubh evolved into a military and ceremonial weapon, to an item suitable for presentation at an award, to an essential part of the Highland kilt outfit i.e. from a weapon to an item of fashion.
Heritage Crafts describe the sgian-dubh as ‘a ceremonial stabbing knife typically worn with full Scottish highland dress. Its cutting edge is generally under three inches and it is worn tucked into the top of the kilt hose (stocking). The name means ‘black knife’ or ‘black dagger’. There are differences in opinion on the origins of this name. It could be because of the black wood used in the handle, or it could refer to its original use as a concealed weapon.’ Other salient features of the sgian-dubh include:
Heritage Crafts, a charitable organisation, believes that the traditional craft of making sgian-dubhs is endangered with only up to 11 professional makers remaining, including Alan Baillie. There are many issues affecting the viability of this craft including cheap imports made for the mass market with the use of plastics and cheaper components.
A beautifully hand-crafted sgian-dubh from Alan Baillie will outlast any cheap import. It is a heirloom to be passed down through the generations.
- Horn Sgian Dubh – would have been worn during the day as a working knife.
- Dress Sgian Dubh – worn as part of the Scottish national dress.
- Blacksmithing – As sgian dubh are no longer used for self-defence or for food use, the blades are often of simple construction. They are often deliberately left blunt edged. They are short bladed, usually around 3 inches long.
- Scabbard making – Traditionally made of leather reinforced with wood and fitted with mounts of silver or some other metal which may be cast or engraved with designs ranging from Scottish thistles, Celtic knotwork or heraldic elements such as a crest.
- Hilt making – The most prized knives have hand-carved ebony or bog wood hilts (hence black knives), sterling silver fittings and may have pummels set with precious or semi-precious stones. Some have antler or bone handles.
Heritage Crafts, a charitable organisation, believes that the traditional craft of making sgian-dubhs is endangered with only up to 11 professional makers remaining, including Alan Baillie. There are many issues affecting the viability of this craft including cheap imports made for the mass market with the use of plastics and cheaper components.
A beautifully hand-crafted sgian-dubh from Alan Baillie will outlast any cheap import. It is a heirloom to be passed down through the generations.
Selection of jewellery
Source material:
https://www.thetimes.com/uk/scotland/article/sporran-kilt-sgian-dubh-scotland-traditional-crafts-dying-out-r5lrtzqhw
https://www.heritagecrafts.org.uk/craft/sgian-dubh-and-dirk-making/
https://www.nms.ac.uk/search-our-collections?description=sgian+dubh
https://www.thewhiteroseguild.com/the-sgian-dubh-and-scottish-national-dress-the-facts/
https://archives.blog.parliament.uk/2021/04/23/the-disarming-acts-myth-and-reality/
http://myarmoury.com/talk/viewtopic.39689.html
https://gaelicthemes.com/the-history-of-sgian-dubh/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sgian-dubh
https://www.faclair.com
https://www.xmarksthescot.com/
https://www.thetimes.com/uk/scotland/article/sporran-kilt-sgian-dubh-scotland-traditional-crafts-dying-out-r5lrtzqhw
https://www.heritagecrafts.org.uk/craft/sgian-dubh-and-dirk-making/
https://www.nms.ac.uk/search-our-collections?description=sgian+dubh
https://www.thewhiteroseguild.com/the-sgian-dubh-and-scottish-national-dress-the-facts/
https://archives.blog.parliament.uk/2021/04/23/the-disarming-acts-myth-and-reality/
http://myarmoury.com/talk/viewtopic.39689.html
https://gaelicthemes.com/the-history-of-sgian-dubh/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sgian-dubh
https://www.faclair.com
https://www.xmarksthescot.com/