Set of bagpipes with two drones

Set of bagpipes with two drones only and with mountings of lead and horn, 18th century.

We tend to assume that older Highland bagpipes, i.e. those dating from before the 18th century, may not have had the modern complement of drones - two tenor drones and a bass drone - and that additional drones have been experimented with and added to the instrument. It is difficult to believe, however, that the Highland bagpipe performed without a bass drone and we might assume that this was a form of Lowland pipe.

This set of pipes belonged to James Drummond (1816 - 1876), Edinburgh artist and joint curator of the Museum of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland (1848 - 1876) and curator of the National Gallery of Scotland (1868 - 1876). Drummond specialised in recording and illustrating West Highland monuments and in reproducing historical scenes. He collected historical objects to copy and use as 'props' in his pictures and this object might have been used in this way.

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