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A horse brass is a brass plaque used for the decoration of
horse harness
Horse harness is a device that connects a horse to a vehicle or another type of load.
There are two main categories of horse harness: (1) the "breaststrap" or "breastcollar" design, and (2) the collar and hames design. For light work, such as ho ...
gear, especially for
shire
Shire is a traditional term for an administrative division of land in Great Britain and some other English-speaking countries such as Australia and New Zealand. It is generally synonymous with county. It was first used in Wessex from the beginn ...
and parade horses. They became especially popular in England from the mid-19th century until their general decline alongside the use of the
draft horse
A draft horse (US), draught horse (UK) or dray horse (from the Old English ''dragan'' meaning "to draw or haul"; compare Dutch ''dragen'' and German ''tragen'' meaning "to carry" and Danish ''drage'' meaning "to draw" or "to fare"), less often ...
, and remain collectors items today.
Phalera is the archaeological term for equivalent disks, which were popular in
Iron Age Europe
In Europe, the Iron Age is the last stage of the prehistoric period and the first of the protohistoric periods,The Junior Encyclopædia Britannica: A reference library of general knowledge. (1897). Chicago: E.G. Melvin. (seriously? 1897 "Junior" ...
, including Ancient Rome.
History
In ancient Rome, horse harnesses were sometimes embellished with horse brasses known as ''phalerae'', normally in
bronze
Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...
, cut or cast in the shape of a boss, disk, or crescent, most often used in pairs on a harness. In medieval England, decorative horse brasses were in use before the 12th century, serving as
talisman
A talisman is any object ascribed with religious or magical powers intended to protect, heal, or harm individuals for whom they are made. Talismans are often portable objects carried on someone in a variety of ways, but can also be installed perm ...
s and status symbols, but extensive, original research by members of the National Horse Brass Society has shown that there is no connection whatsoever between these bronze
amulet
An amulet, also known as a good luck charm or phylactery, is an object believed to confer protection upon its possessor. The word "amulet" comes from the Latin word amuletum, which Pliny's ''Natural History'' describes as "an object that protects ...
s to the working-class harness decorations used in the mid-19th century which developed as part of a general flowering of the decorative arts following the
Great Exhibition
The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations, also known as the Great Exhibition or the Crystal Palace Exhibition (in reference to the temporary The Crystal Palace, structure in which it was held), was an International Exhib ...
.
There are a great deal of die-hard, unfounded myths surrounding these decorations such as their usage as amulets to ward off the "
evil eye
The Evil Eye ( grc, ὀφθαλμὸς βάσκανος; grc-koi, ὀφθαλμὸς πονηρός; el, (κακό) μάτι; he, עַיִן הָרָע, ; Romanian: ''Deochi''; it, malocchio; es, mal de ojo; pt, mau-olhado, olho gordo; ar ...
". The most popular size is 3 × inches of flat brass with a hanger by which the brass is threaded onto a horse harness strap, known as a
Martingale. In England many of these items of harness found their way into country public houses as the era of the heavy horse declined, and are still associated today as a pub decoration. By the late 19th century heavy horses were decorated with brasses of all kinds and sizes. During this era working horse parades were popular throughout the British Isles and prize or merit awards were given, some by the
Royal Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) is a charity operating in England and Wales that promotes animal welfare. The RSPCA is funded primarily by voluntary donations. Founded in 1824, it is the oldest and largest an ...
(RSPCA). Horse brasses were often highly prized by the "
cart
A cart or dray (Australia and New Zealand) is a vehicle designed for transport, using two wheels and normally pulled by one or a pair of draught animals. A handcart is pulled or pushed by one or more people.
It is different from the flatbed tr ...
ers", who decorated their horse with them. Other horse brass subjects include advertising, royalty commemoration, and in later years, souvenir brasses for places and events, many of which are still being made and used today.
Collection
Collecting horse brasses for their own sake other than as decorations for harness seems to have commenced around 1880, when women bought the newly issued, pierced-design, die-struck brasses which were used for pin-cushions. A little later these were often used as fingerplates on doors which can be corroborated by accounts in the trade magazine, ''Saddler and Harness'' by the veteran saddler William Albery or Horsham in Sussex. From 1890 onward, collecting the various types of brass, i.e. face-pieces, swingers, and hame-plates, etc., became a highly popular pastime amongst the upper and middle classes. Indeed, the collecting of these humble brasses became especially popular amongst academics with many famous, early collections being formed by public schoolmasters and other prominent professionals, such as A.H. Tod, a Master at Charterhouse School and Dr Kirk of Pickering in Yorkshire, whose collection is still housed at the
York Castle Museum
York Castle Museum is a museum located in York, North Yorkshire, England, on the site of York Castle, which was originally built by William the Conqueror in 1068. The museum itself was founded by John L. Kirk in 1938, and is housed in prison bu ...
in York. The writing about such items also commenced c. 1890s and was dominated by much
Victorian romanticism surrounding the supposed, esoteric origin and ancient, unbroken lineage of these decorations. Such myths include their origin as
talisman
A talisman is any object ascribed with religious or magical powers intended to protect, heal, or harm individuals for whom they are made. Talismans are often portable objects carried on someone in a variety of ways, but can also be installed perm ...
ic symbols being brought back to England by homecoming knights returning from the
Crusades
The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were in ...
, or in later years, by migrating
Romani
Romani may refer to:
Ethnicities
* Romani people, an ethnic group of Northern Indian origin, living dispersed in Europe, the Americas and Asia
** Romani genocide, under Nazi rule
* Romani language, any of several Indo-Aryan languages of the Roma ...
, though, once again, absolutely no evidence has ever been offered in support of these theories.
Cast brasses
Whatever the views of individual collectors as to when or where working-horse harness decoration first began in the British Isles, most collectors agree that cast brasses were the first to appear on the scene. Opinion is also still divided as to how, even these, originated, but once again, most collectors nowadays, are in agreement that the earliest decorations were simple, cast studs in a variety of shapes and sizes. The earliest types were probably even made locally by smiths or other skilled artisans but by the second half of the 19th century the production of such things had evolved from a local, decorative cult into a national fashion with the bulk of their production centred in and around the West Midlands.
National Horse Brass Society, UK
/ref>
Stamped brasses
Stamped brasses on heavy horse harness appeared on the scene around 1880, with a small number occurring perhaps a decade or so earlier, and it is highly likely that the process developed from one that was already established in the manufacture of carriage harness trappings and military insignia. However, production of these appears to have peaked shortly before the First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, and since the 1920s, a few types have been produced but their quality is rather poor being made from thinner gauge brass sheet. Due to serious considerations of the sheer weight of cast harness decorations carried by working horses (first raised by the early animal welfare movements in the late 19th century) it is thought that the first stamped brasses were made as a lighter (and cheaper), alternative to cast brasses being later exported throughout the British Empire. Unlike their cast cousins, stamped brasses were not made in moulds, but pressed out of rolled sheet brass approximately 1/16 in thickness although other gauges of sheet than earlier examples. Due to the ease of their manufacture, many thousands of these stamped types were produced, but there are some that are very rare.
The production of both cast and stamped brasses has continued since the demise of the British working horse but their manufacture is mainly centred on the souvenir trade, and other specialist manufacturers who provide for the heavy horse world who still breed and show the various breeds.
The National Horse Brass Society of England has members all over the world and provides publications for members and swap meets.
References
External links
National Horse Brass Society
Museum of English Rural Life Horse Brass collection
{{DEFAULTSORT:Horse Brass
Horse harness
Horse ornamentation
Luck
Numismatics
Amulets
Brass
Metallic objects