Kelvingrove Museum ran an exhibition called The Thistles of Scotland produced by my late mother Dr Agnes Walker. This is the booklet that was produced for the exhibition which looked into the history of the many thistles of Scotland from the points of view of Heraldic, Botanical and Artistic use.
Last Autumn we put on a new display where we took some of the images that were collected for this exhibition and worked with a couple of local artist to produce firstly a Lino print of the various outlines of the numerous thistles that were identified in the exhibition and booklet.
From these images Tenetiles hand made a print that was both decoratively beautiful and also informative of the various thistles.
This limited edition print is available with a wooden hanger and card.
Logs studio made unique frames for each of the various images that were on show at the original exhibition. These images were collected from various archives which included a 12th century facsimile from a manuscript formerly in the Abbey of Bury St Edmunds. These frames prints are on sale in our shop and details can be found on our website here.
SHORT EXTRACTS FROM THE 1983 EXHIBITION AND THE ACCOMPANYING BOOKLET
The first time thistles appear in Scotland as a royal symbol was around 1480 when two were stamped on a silver coin issued by James III. Once adopted as the national symbol it proves to be popular with architects, woodcarvers and artists. One of the earliest examples that still survives is the Franco-Flemish "Verdure with Thistles" tapestry in the Burrell Collection. Much later thistles and roses were abandoned as national symbol and the St Andrew's cross became the norm. While the spear thistle is the best known thew cotton thistle has been used most when illustrated as it has a more symmetrical leaf.
We collect a number of thistle pieces for sale in our shop when we put on the display and a number of these items can be found on our website. Thistle Products