Old Vintage LARGER Horse Brasses Leather 4 Medallions Queen Elizabeth 1953

Description

4 LARGE Draft Horse Brasses on leather strap
Purchased in the U.K
All Larger brasses (see photo comparison last photo) with the exception of Queen Elizabeth. Queen Elizabeth is the size you are accustomed to seeing.
1953 Queen Elizabeth, Shire (I believe), Horse in Horseshoe, Cockington Forge. Nice detail mix of stamped and early cast brasses
Leather and strap was replaced sometime in the last couple of decades and not original to the brasses
Brass measurements vary by brass. Largest is 3.5 x 4.5" : Smallest is: 3.5 x 3"
Total length from top of buckle of brown strap to bottom of buckle 24"
Length (excluding brown strap) 15" x 3 3/4 at the widest point
Brief history of horse brass
Trimming horses with horse brass dates back to the pre-Roman period (fourth to the first century BC).
The manufacture of brass alloy in England appeared during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1559-1603). Brass casting was introduced in the seventeenth century, but was not used for decorative objects until the 1700’s. That’s when horse brass medallions appeared.
Powerful symbol of protection against evil
Get thee gone, woes of “the evil eye”. Horse brass medallions were believed to protect the horses. Vital for work, transportation and war, horses were possessions of value.
Greeks and Romans considered the crescent moon a sign of good luck. Celestial symbols included the sun god worshiped by the ancient Persians who might sacrifice a horse to curry favor from the deity. The star design originates from the tale of the three wise men following the star of Bethlehem.
Later, motifs represented the horse owner’s trade. Farmers had agricultural objects like trees and barnyard fowl. Some trades were illustrated with images of churns and barrels.
Titled gentry represented themselves with brasses bearing the family crest or some portrait or heraldic image such as a bear, lion, unicorn or elephant; in hunting circles the stag, fox, hounds, eagles and swans were common.
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