The
Antique Horse Company
Amulets
The earliest record
of horse harness decorations, amulets are mostly from Roman origin.
The first designs
are believed to have been the heart, crescent, disc, and sun. Most amulets
were made out of bronze. The photo below is an illustration of the Emperor
of the Byzantine
(527 to 565 A.D.)
"Emperor Justinian". As you can see the amulets hang from the chest
area and through
out the martingale.
(Photo from Horse Brasses
- Their History and Origin by R.A. Brown)
The average size of
an amulet was much smaller than the modern brasses seen today. They were
only about 1 1/2 " to 2" in diameter. Below are some photo's from amulets
in my collection. The first is an amulet from Roman origin dating
around 300 A.D. The second is an amulet with a cross in the center
- Roman Origin dating around 600- 700 A.D. Notice how the designs
start having greater detail. The third is an amulet of Scottish Origin
dating around 11th century- fleur - de -
lis. All these amulets
are made of bronze and measure between 1 1/2 " to 2" in diameter.
#1
Amulet 300 A.D. #2 Amulet 600
A.D
11th Century Scottish Origin
Hammered Brasses
The very first horse brasses
were hand made. They were hammered from sheets of brass. The sheets of
brass were know as latten. The early saddle maker would use patterns and
punches to hammer out a design. These early brasses were very simple in
pattern design. A hammer was used to raise the center of many of these
brasses. In turn leaving hammer markings though out the brass. Hammered
brasses were made until about 1825. Many of these hammered brasses were
produced by gypsies. The photo below is of a hammered brass in my collection
dating around 1810-1820. You can see the simplicity of the the design and
the hammer marks in the center of the bottom circle.
Hammered brass 1810-1820
Stamping
Early Stamped brasses were
made by using a single shaped punch, to create a pattern , from a sheet
of brass. As seen in the photo below the punch is used over and over to
create a pattern.
Many stamped brasses were
made from dozens of different punches or dies, to create a finely detailed
horse brass. This process was very labor intensive and was very expensive.
Around the turn of the century , Machine gauge stamp horse brasses started
to be produced. These were stamped in one single operation. They were produced
until the 1930's. The demand of horse brasses declined during World War
I. At that time most stamped brasses ceased production. Presently there
is no reproduction of stamped brasses. So, you can be certain a stamped
brasses is from the 1930's or before.
Early Stamped Brass
Cast
Brasses
The greatest amount of Horse
Brasses were produced by casting process. Vintage Cast brasses were
produced from 1860 to 1930's.
Cast brasses were produced
by creating a design or pattern , usually craved out of wood. Pear wood
was a likely choice because of it 's grain. This craving was used to form
impression in a casting sand mold. Studs or nails were used to provide
a means of lifting or gripping the horse brass. The studs were placed within
the impressed mold before pouring of the brass. At this time, brass was
poured into each impressed mold and left to harden. Once the brass solidified,
the studs or nails were cut off, leaving two stubs on most vintage old
brasses. This is a good method of identifying a genuine vintage cast brass,
although many reproductions also bear stubs. Many clues are provided
by the the backing of a horse brass.
Example
of a great old cast brass 1880c to 1890c Brewery brass
Not -to -be-beaten (Notice
the two stubs)
Specialty Brasses (my
favorites!)
Ceramic Center Horse Brasses
Ceramic center horse brasses
were produced from 1870 to 1950's . These beautiful brasses come in many
colors, red, blue, white, black, navy and many of them are striped red,
white, and blue. The back of a ceramic can provide identification of the
age of the brass. The older ones have two metal prongs soldered on the
back , holding the ceramic center in place. The newer ones, 1930 to early
1950, have a bolt and screw, holding the ceramic in place. Almost
all ceramic brasses were stamped. Only a few of the later ones, 1940's
to 1950's are cast brasses. Their extreme rareness is obviously a product
of the fragility of the ceramic itself.
Ceramic
brasses Back of the ceramic -
prongs
RSPCA Award brasses
Royal Society for the Prevention
of Cruelty to Animals award brasses were believed to have been the first
award brasses for showing horses. In 1886 the first London Cart Horse RSPCA
parade was performed. Is it believe very soon after, the first RSPCA awards
were awarded. There is record of RSPCA award brasses from 1896 on
. Badges were presented for Van Horse Parade and Cart Horse Parade Merit
Badges. Later a circular badge was issued as a general award. Some war
era badges were cast in aluminum.
RSPCA Van & Cart Award Badges
Aluminum General Award
Bell Horse Brasses
In the mid to late 19th century,
bell brasses started to be produced. At that time these bell brasses were
two to three times more expensive than any other ordinary horse brass.
In consequence today, none can be said to be common and most can only be
described as very rare. Most bell brasses have a small lug that has been
drilled, a pin is inserted on which the bell swings from. The frame of
the brass may be cast or stamped. There is only one design for a stamped
bell brass. It is shown below. The bell within the frame is cast. The National
Horse Brass Society produced a Bell brass for it's annual brass in 1981.
Bell brasses were made as single, double, and triple bells.
The second bell is the only stamped frame
design ever made 1870 to 1910c.
The other two brasses are cast.
By Lucy Mayer
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