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The Chief's Pipe - We really don't know who made this bagpipe although the silver is obviously East
Indian. It was given to my father by Donald MacRae, brother of Col. John MacRae, who wrote the famous
poem In Flanders Fields. The bagpipe was said to have been played at the Relief of Lucknow during
the Indian Mutiny. It is made of ebony and is an extremely rich, powerful bagpipe.
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There are some who believe that this bagpipe has ties to Henry Starck's Brian Boru bagpipe. Certainly
the continuous beading, small button mounts, and the chalice shaped bells are consistent with Starck's
Brian Boru or "Dungannon" bagpipe. Starck's bagpipe was developed around 1900 or so (the patent was
taken out in 1905). An advertisement for that instrument reads "Modelled somewhat in form from an anncient
Irish Instrument..." Of course, we don't know what the ancient Irish instrument looked like however
we do know that Starck's bagpipe make its appearance about 50 years after the Chief's bagpipe was to
have been played in India.
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