Horse bit with attached cheekpieces
Not on view
This is a bronze bit for a horse. Two spiked bars, called canons, are liked by loops; these form the bit itself. Each canon is connected to a curved cheekpiece with a loop for the reins. One of the cheekpieces is intact, and its ends are decorated with a knob and a horse’s hoof.
Fifteen bits, including this one, were excavated in the Treasury at Persepolis, the capital of the Achaemenid Persian Empire, along with a variety of other pieces of military equipment. The spikes on this bit are especially cruel, and suggest a military function, as they would permit near absolute control on the part of the rider. Indeed, horses were an important aspect of Persian military power, and were thus often displayed in Achaemenid art, such as on the reliefs of Apadana at Persepolis.
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