'Mythical beast' cap found in Scots bog stars in US exhibition

A horned pony cap recovered from a bog in southern Scotland more than 200 years ago is one of the star attractions at a new exhibition in the United States.

Dr Fraser Hunter, Iron Age curator with National Museums Scotland (NMS), said the headwear would have given the animal the appearance of a "mythical beast".

The artefact - thought to be more than 2,000 years old - was discovered at the site of the former Torrs Loch near Castle Douglas in 1812.

It is part of the Celtic Art Across the Ages exhibition which has just opened at Harvard Art Museums (HAM) in Massachusetts.

Hunter said there was a particular interest in Celtic culture in the area.

"The exhibition is based in Boston and, obviously, Boston has got this big tradition of Irish heritage," he explained.

"So they're really keen to have an exhibition looking at Celtic art and the development of Celtic identity and our collections are really strong in this area."

Also on show are a Roman period brooch from Auldearn in the Highlands, an early medieval brooch from Rogart in Sutherland, a sculpture from Monifieth in Angus and a "glorious wooden box" from near Birsay on Orkney.

"There's a really wide range of materials over a wide range of dates, almost 1,000 years of history that's been sent across," he said.

The pony cap, however, is one of the "real star pieces of the show".

"It's a real internationally-important object, and it's also been one of these long-running puzzles," he explained.

"It was found in 1812 when they were draining a bog at Torrs, south of Castle Douglas and they found both a cap and horns."

There followed a "long debate" about whether the two parts actually joined together after they ended up in the collection of Sir Walter Scott.

"He wasn't immune to sexing things up a bit and trying to improve how things looked," explained Hunter.

"But the original newspaper account that a colleague discovered a few years ago makes it quite clear that the horns and the cap were attached when it was discovered.

"So you have this amazing cap for a pony with the horns - it would have made it look like some mythical beast almost."

He said ponies were real "status animals" of the time and might have been used to pull a chariot - "the Ferrari of the period".

"The ponies, because they were part of this status ensemble, they too were kitted out," he said.

"Now - with nothing quite like this from anywhere else - it is an exceptional piece, but the idea of decorating horses and ponies is something you see quite widely.

"It may be with the horns on it, it's intended to make the ponies almost into some kind of mythical beast - they move beyond being just ponies and become something quite fantastical."

Susanne Ebbinghaus, curator of ancient art at HAM, said they were "very excited" to play host to a selection of "iconic objects" including the pony cap.

"The Torrs pony cap and other fantastic objects from NMS are among the highlights of our exhibition Celtic Art Across the Ages, here at the HAM in Massachusetts," she said.

"These and other objects will introduce visitors from the Greater Boston area to unexpected forms of art and ornament.

"Perhaps some travellers from Scotland will come see the exhibition, too, when they are in town to watch the Scotland national football team play in the World Cup in June."