Handmade lavender bag
Cream silk, hand-sewn pouch containing dried lavender and tied with a handmade lace ribbon. Made by Catherine (Kate) MacKinnon of Lodge Farm, Kirkapol (sister of Rev Hector MacKinnon) at one of Lady Victoria`s sewing classes held at the farm in the 1910s.
Tiree tea towel ca. 1970
Souvenir linen tea towel with pictures of Tiree birds and places. From Mona MacDonald`s shop in Scarinish.
Lantern bracket for postman`s cart
Black-painted iron bracket for the side of a cart to hold a lantern, similar to those used on a postman`s horse-drawn cart. Note the lead lining of the sleeve.
Metal funnel for pouring parrafin into lamps
Black-painted metal funnel, with metal mesh filter, for pouring parrafin into lamps (presence of filter suggests that it may have been for a machine, e.g. lawnmower?).
Collection of metal tools from a ruin in the 1970s
Assemblage of eight black-painted tools, length of straw rope and a pair of glasses, collected by Ailean Boyd from ruins in the 1970s: forge tongs, head of an open clay spade used for heavy soils of bottoms of ditches, pony shoe, turf edger head, hammer wrench, ash scraper, fork head, unknown head.
Hollowed-out stone used for de-husking grain
Cnotag – large stone with deep hollow at centre used for de-husking grain. On long-term loan.
Two roofing slates and slate pencils for `Schools` exhibition 2011-2013
Two chipped roofing slates and a packet of four slate pencils used in the mini-exhibition about schools in 2011-2013. Visiting children were encouraged to try writing on the slates with the slate pencils.
Two Communion tokens from the Free Church of Scotland
Two small, oval, lead tokens stamped with “Tiree Free Church” on one side and “Do this in rememberance of me” on the other, belonging to Lachlan and Joanne MacLean, Druimfraoich. Possession of a Communion Token authorised the bearer to take part in Holy Communion. They were widely used in Scotland from the time of the Reformation until the middle of the 19th (20th?) century.
In the weeks before the celebration of Communion the church`s elders (or a Catechist) would visit each member and examine his or her knowledge of the faith and purity of life. Those who met with the elders` approval were given a small lead token, which permitted them to receive Communion. This was to prevent exposing the Lord’s Table ‘to profanation by immoral and unfaithful people`. This example is from the Free Church of Scotland and was manufactured some time after 1843.
Four World War II medals
Four ribboned medals for services during World War II belonging to Lachlan `Lal` MacLean, Roadside, Balemartine: (1) brass The France and Germany Star, (2) brass The 1939-1945 Star, (3) silver The Defence Medal, (4) silver 1939-1945, bearing a lion overpowering a griffin.
Four pieces of bog iron ore from Vaul
Four pieces of bog iron ore from Vaul, 400m west of Dun Mòr Bhalla. Bog iron ore occurs naturally in wet ground associated with sand. It was refined and used by Iron Age settlers to make tools etc.
