Vintage 4 cast Horse brass leather Martingale

Vintage British
4 cast HORSE brasses with
LEATHER
MARTINGALE






LEATHER MARTINGALE Approx. 46 centimeters long

Some age tarnish - patina (untouched) on cast brasses
Some age wear on LEATHER MARTINGALE,
otherwise fine condition

A Horse brass is a brass plaque used for the decoration of horse harness gear, especially for shire and parade horses. Used since antiquity, they became especially popular in England in the 1800s, and remain a collectors item today.
Certain types of horse brass have been in existence since before the 12th century in England. They were introduced as decorations but soon became used as good luck and status symbols. These medieval decorations however, have nothing whatsoever to do with the mid-19th century fashion for decorating the heavy, working horse, the brasses for which developed after about 1850 onwards during the flowering of the decorative arts following the Great Exhibition. The most popular size is 3 x 3 1/2 inches of flat brass with a hanger by which the brass 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 wagons and carts were decorated with brasses of all kinds and sizes. During this era working horse parades were popular throughout the British Isles.