Object : Mauchline Ware Brooch

Date: 19th Century

Description: A wooden brooch depicting Rothesay. Mauchline Ware souvenirs came in all shapes and illustrations. The manufacturers were always on the lookout for wood from a special tree that could make souvenirs unique to an area. One such tree was ‘Adam’ which, with his partner ‘Eve’, stood at the bottom of Eden Drive (the street took its name from the trees). When Adam was felled, the wood was made into many Mauchline souvenirs including this brooch. The Museum also has Adam boxes and napkin rings. Each item has printed on it the words ‘made from an ash tree called Adam aged 220 years grown in Rothesay Isle of Bute.’

Origin: Mauchline Ware was made in the town of Mauchline in Ayrshire and in its heyday in the 1860s, as many as 400 people were employed in the industry of making souvenir ware for both the UK and abroad. The brooch was a donation to the museum collection.