Silver Turkoman Bridle

This is a very typical Turkoman bridle and would be used by Afghani, Turkmen, Teke, Yomud, or Sakar.

The leather is covered with red velvet and the silver shell like decoration is stapled through with hooks. The metal used is not pure, but has a degree of silver in it.

Cornelian decorates the headpiece, and tassels of metal around the brow band make a delightful tinkerling noise. When hundreds of horses are ridden together with these wonderful bridles the sound is musical and quite evocative.

Provenance: purchased by private collector from Tolkuchka Bazaar, Ashgabat, Turkoman 2001