Saddle: M.13-1947

Maker(s)

Production: Unknown (Style of)

Entities

• Saddle
• Steels
• Stirrups
• saddle with steels and stirrups

Categories

• Armour

Description

Saddle with steels and stirrups, for heavy cavalry use, decorated with fluting in the 'Maximilian' fashion. Formed of a wooden tree covered with quilted fabric and fitted with steels and stirrups. The tree, which is arched to the horse's back and has a high bow and cantle, is formed of numerous separate pieces of wood roughly joined with iron nails. The bow has a slightly convex upper edge and straight sides that slope outwards to the bottom. It has rounded upper and lower corners. The front face of the bow is pierced with five holes to receive the screws that attach its steels: one at the top centre, one halfway down each side, and one at the bottom of each side. The cantle has a strongly convex upper edge which curves down and then in again at each side. The rear face of the cantle is pierced with three holes to receive the screws that attach its steels: one at the top centre and one at each side. A redundant hole pierced to the left of the central one is partly plugged. The upper surface of the tree, the rear face of the bow and the front face of the cantle are faced with a coarsely-woven, faded crimson fabric (possibly wool). The fabric is wrapped around the edges of the bow and cantle and secured there by iron nails. It is secured to the tree behind the cantle by a line of nails with large copper caps. The fabric that covers the tree extends downwards beyond its lower edge to form a pair of square side-panels, which are bordered by a twill-woven, faded yellow fabric tape (possibly linen). A horizontal band of the same tape decorates the top of the tree at each side. The panel formed between these bands is padded with hay. The centres of the side-panels are quilted with close-set vertical lines of stitches. The underside of the tree is lined with brown leather which is sewn into the turned-over edges of the fabric covering. The front face of the bow is fitted with three steels: a large top one that extends downwards to just below the top of the arch of the saddle where it overlaps the tops of a pair of lower plates. The plates are secured by five large cheese-headed screws cut with a pair of opposing rectangular notches. Their heads are decorated with filed nicks between the notches and pairs of incised lines that connect the notches. The top steel is pierced with three screw holes, and each of the lower ones with two, aligning with the holes in the front face of the bow. The rivet that passes through the hole at each side of the lower edge of the top plate also passes through the hole at the upper end of the lower plate, at that side. A slightly smaller, unused hole is pierced just above the upper hole of each of the lower plates. The rear face of the cantle is fitted with a single, large steel which is secured by three large, cheese-headed screws of the same design as those employed at the bow. The screws are accommodated in three holes that align with those in the rear face of the cantle. The upper and lateral edges of both the bow and cantle-steels have boldly roped, partial inward turns accompanied by recessed borders. The 'stands' of the roping are separated by pairs of incised lines. The top bow-steel is decorated at the top with three transverse flutes, and below them with twenty-five flutes that radiate upwards and outwards from the arch of its lower edge. Each of the lower plates is decorated with nine flutes that radiate downwards and outwards from the top half of its inner edge. The cantle-steel is decorated with twenty-three flutes that diverge upwards and outwards from the central third of its lower edge. The flutes are emphasised by pairs of incised lines throughout. Suspended from long leather loops that issue from the underside of the tree at each side, are a pair of large iron stirrups. Each stirrup is formed of an arch and a cross-bar. The arch, which is pierced at its apex with a horizontal slot to receive the leather suspension-loop, widens towards its lower end. The cross-bar has down-turned ends which are secured within the lower end of the arch at each side by a pair of externally-flush rivets at each side. The cross-bar is pierced and shaped to form three bars that widen at their centres.

Notes

History note: Mrs E.W. Stead and Mr Gilbert Stead of Dalston Hall, Cumberland

Legal notes

Purchased with funds from the Leverton Harris Fund.