SHOWCASE 55. CEREMONIAL HORSE HARNESS OF IRANIAN, TURKISH AND EUROPEAN WORK OF THE 16TH - 17TH CENTURIES

Thoroughbred horses wearing precious harness were traditionally considered the best gift to a sovereign. The showcase displays extremely rich ceremonial horse harness of the 16th-17th centuries, brought from several Eastern and European countries by ambassadors and merchants as gifts to Russian tsars. Full ceremonial horse harness of the 17th century for a royal horse, shown on a mannequin, is made up mostly of items of Eastern work.

The collection of Turkish items of the 17th century is referred to the golden age of the Ottoman Empire and represents masterpieces of world significance. Items of horse harness produced in Istanbul court workshops are framed in gold, embroidered with silk and studded with rubies, emeralds and diamonds.

Saddles and horsecloths of Iranian work, distinguished by high skilled execution, were created in Shakh’s court workshops especially as gifts to Russian rulers. They are characterized by the unbelievable clearness of style and sophisticated magnificence of décor.

Items of ceremonial horse harness made by European masters are presented at the right side of the showcase. There are masterpieces made by craftsmen from Prague, Gdansk and Hamburg. German saddles of the second half of the 17th century have the traditional form which developed in the age of chivalry. Their tough pommels and leg clips made as resilient rolls were meant for a firm seat. The main ornament in German horse harness is splendid high-relief embroidery.

Turkish saddles differ from the Russian and Iranian ones. They are broader at the base, fit closer to the horseback and have a high pointed pommel at the front and a sloping cantle at the back. Turkish masters made saddles of gilded silver embellished with niello, engraving and chasing. Velvet and brocade cloth was embroidered with flowers composing of pearls and precious stones.

European ceremonial horse harness is represented by breast straps, bridles, stirrups and saddles. Most of them are adorned with pearls, precious stones and enamels. These masterpieces created by masters of the largest European artistic centres were brought to the Russian Royal treasury as diplomatic gifts from the sovereigns of those countries. The earlier pieces in the collection are Polish hussar saddles. Saddles of such kind cannot be found in other museums’ collections. Hussar saddles fit the horseback closely—a typical feature of West-European saddles, while the high sloping head of the pommel was borrowed from the East. “Archak”—a small saddle with detachable cushion—was a very widespread type of saddles in Poland of the 17th century.