Accoutrements

This saddle blanket is quite beautiful if may have been made in Tibet, but possibly China. But it has some age on it, and the green colour in the middle is a rare jewel as green is a hard colour to dye. You can see the holes where the straps

This is a lovely set of regalia, there are two blankets and one neck cover. It would have been made for a wedding and is typical of the work in that region, based on pearl decoration. There are made with great speed and never finished off very well and as

This Crupper was on the Tibetan saddle to be found under ‘Saddles’. It is beautifully inlaid with brass and the plates have then been attached to the leather. The decoration suggests that they too were made in China and imported and fixed onto the leather in Tibet. There is considerable

This is a Dogon saddle cloth from Mali, Africa. The design is vibrant and unusual, these patterns are not common. The materials used have been recycled a modern fabric with a rubberized surface which has been brightly painted. The work is very typical of the Dogon. The center of the

This woven leather work is done by the women of the Songhai, near Gao in Mali. These highly coloured intricate pieces are as far as we can tell to decorate the horse in some way. I have suggested that they may be reins as they as very similar to those

These reins are straight on the top and dog toothed below. They have been much mended and might well have been handed down through many generations. A fine silver thread has been woven into a thin leather in geometric designs in which the centers have two different repeated patterns. They

This is a modern piece, from Niger, Africa. The silver-lamé thread is woven onto velvet which is then set onto leather and lined. The design is interestingly classic and has echoes in the classical gowns worn in the court of the Tsar at the turn of the century. The collar decoration

This piece of silver neck decoration was sent from Turkmenistan. It is made in sections which would be threaded onto leather. The silver is very impure and has other metals mixed into it including tin, the design is quite typical. Normally these collars are made of nail shaped bits of

These woven neck decorations are used by every horse owner and nomad in Turkmenistan to decorate their horses tie up their goats and even secure garments. The orange and white are typical of the colours used by the Turkmen. The will double up as a bridle, head collar and reins

This is a neck cover for a horse from Northern India. These decorations would be used during wedding ceremonies and other formal occasions. Some of the finest work is made in Sind. This is a particularly good example of a short poll cover with a nearly full complement of mirror.