LOT 1126

Byzantine Iron Horse Bit

14TH-16TH CENTURY A.D.

7 3/4 in. (340 grams, 19.5 cm).

Composed of arched openwork shanks with looped terminals; one end fitted with large hoops and bar between; one end with a tripartite mouthpiece comprising two collared bars connected by a central hoop; Byzantine or early Ottoman.

Collection of Dr. Hanns-Ulrich Haedeke (1928-2017), author of ‘Schmuck Aus Drei Jahrtausenden’ and who became the director of the Museum of Klingenmuseum in Solingen, Germany, in 1968; the collection was formed in the early 1960s.
From an important private Dutch collection.

See Витлянов, С., Старобългарското въоъжение (The Old Bulgarian Armament), София, 1996, fig.1, pl.XXIV, and fig.5, for an identical example.

This type of horse bit is visible on one of the most important equestrian artworks of the 15th century - the Cappella dei Magi by Benozzo Gozzoli, a painting representing the Three Kings visiting Christ, depicted in costumes belonging to the early quarter of 15th century. All the cavalrymen in the artwork had heavy curb-bits (with short and curved shanks, as in our specimen) and heavy, single reins.