The mouthpiece of this bit, composed of scatches (flattened canons) with a gooseneck port, was intended for a horse with a good mouth and a thick tongue, but which leans too much on the bit. The scatches also disarm the lips (moving them aside from the gums) without pressing them too much.
In contemporary equestrian manuals, these shanks are called à la gigotte, which means that the swivel ring’s hole is aligned (‘on the line’) with the axis of the banquet (piece to which the mouthpiece is attached), but the shank’s knee projects forwards. They were used on horses with ‘a natural beautiful position but with week loins or being weary to hold it.’
The pierced decoration of the bit and its bosses, giving a lace-like aspect to the metal, is typical of the decoration used by the spur makers in the South East of Germany in the 16th and 17th centuries. Despite their name, spur makers not only made spurs, but also all other small equestrian hardware like bits, stirrups, muzzles, cavessons or curry-combs, sometimes adorned with the same intricate decoration.
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Title:Curb Bit
Date:17th century
Culture:South German
Medium:Iron alloy, copper alloy, gold
Dimensions:H. 12 1/2 in. (31.8 cm); W. 7 3/4 in. (19.7 cm); Wt. 1 lb. 11.9 oz. (791 g)
Classification:Equestrian Equipment-Bits
Credit Line:Gift of Christian A. Zabriskie, 1937
Accession Number:37.189.11
Theodore Offerman, New York City
Los Angeles. Los Angeles County Museum of Art. "Loan Exhibition of Mediaeval and Renaissance Arms and Armor from the Metropolitan Museum of Art," January 15–March 18, 1953, no. 50.
San Francisco. California Palace of the Legion of Honor, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. "Loan Exhibition of Mediaeval and Renaissance Arms and Armor from the Metropolitan Museum of Art," April 18–June 7, 1953, no. 50.
Pittsburgh. Department of Fine Arts, Carnegie Institute. "Loan Exhibition of Mediaeval and Renaissance Arms and Armor from the Metropolitan Museum of Art," October 1953–April 1954, no. 50.
Louisville, Ky. Speed Art Museum. "A Loan Exhibition of Equestrian Equipment from the Metropolitan Museum of Art," May 4–July 3, 1955, no. 31.
Seattle, Wash. Seattle Art Museum. "The Art of Chivalry: European Arms and Armor from The Metropolitan Museum of Art," March 11, 1982–June 6, 1982, no. 32.
Denver, Colo. Denver Art Museum. "The Art of Chivalry: European Arms and Armor from The Metropolitan Museum of Art," July 18–October 10, 1982, no. 32.
San Antonio, Tex. Witte Museum of the San Antonio Museum Association. "The Art of Chivalry: European Arms and Armor from The Metropolitan Museum of Art," November 13, 1982–February 5, 1983, no. 32.
Minneapolis, Minn. Minneapolis Institute of Arts. "The Art of Chivalry: European Arms and Armor from The Metropolitan Museum of Art," May 24–July 31, 1983, no. 32.
San Francisco. Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. "The Art of Chivalry: European Arms and Armor from The Metropolitan Museum of Art," November 5, 1983–January 28, 1984, no. 32.
Detroit, Mich. Detroit Institute of Arts. "The Art of Chivalry: European Arms and Armor from The Metropolitan Museum of Art," April 4–June 17, 1984, no. 32.
Grancsay, Stephen V. Loan Exhibition of European Arms and Armor: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, August 3 to September 27, 1931. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1931. no. 118.
American Art Association-Anderson Galleries, Inc. European Arms & Armor of the XV–XVIII Century: Collection of the Late Theodore Offerman, Sold by the Order of the Executor of His Estate, The National City Bank of New York. New York: American Art Association-Anderson Galleries, Inc., November 11–13, 1937. no. 214.
Grancsay, Stephen V. Loan Exhibition of Mediaeval and Renaissance Arms and Armor from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1953. p. 18, no. 50.
Grancsay, Stephen V. A Loan Exhibition of Equestrian Equipment from the Metropolitan Museum of Art: Catalogue. Louisville, Ky.: Speed Art Museum, 1955. no. 31, ill.
Metropolitan Museum of Art, Helmut Nickel, Stuart W. Pyhrr, Leonid Tarassuk, and American Federation of Arts. The Art of Chivalry: European Arms and Armor from the Metropolitan Museum of Art: An Exhibition. New York: The Federation, 1982. p. 76, no. 32, ill.
Crossbow by Johann Gottfried Hänisch the Elder (German, Dresden 1696–1778)
dated 1742
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