- Title
- Pair of Equestrian Haunch Fittings
- Date Made
- circa 1650-1700
- Medium
- Steel, overlaid with two colors of gold
- Dimensions
- Diameter (each): 1 7/8 in. (4.76 cm)
Height (each): 5/8 in. (1.59 cm)
- Accession Number
- M.2001.126.1-.2
- Collecting Area
- South and Southeast Asian Art
- Curatorial Notes
This matching (but not identical) Pair of Equestrian Haunch Fittings are made of steel with damascened decoration overlaid with two colors of gold onto the low domical surface. Each fitting has five poppy plants growing out of a ground line. They have open blossoms and stalks bearing botanically accurate pointed leaves with broadly serrated edges. The central poppy is the largest on each fitting, with nine petals on one and eight on the other. The remaining poppies are scaled smaller to fit the available space with eight, seven, or six petals. Chinese cloud motifs float above the poppies. The scalloped edge is enlivened with indeterminate plant forms.
The back of each haunch fitting has a flat circular ring mounted on three equidistant support posts. Tacking straps from the saddle and under the tail were threaded through two sections of the conjoining ring. A strap or chain with a decorative terminal was suspended from the third sector of the ring. Similar fittings were used for bridles, but they generally have four sections for attaching straps or chains. Haunch fittings are sometimes confused with shield bosses, but those are generally shaped in the form of a hemispherical dome. Equestrian fittings were also fashioned in enameled gold and bejeweled jade. Haunch fittings are occasionally represented on the horses of important personages in Mughal and Deccani painting.