Curb Bit

Unknown

ca. 1530–50 · Iron alloy, copper alloy · Arms and Armor

According to contemporary equestrian manuals, this complex mouthpiece, characteristic of the bits made between ca. 1530 and ca. 1550, was designed for lowering the horse's head. The shanks (the levers on the sides of the bit to which the reins were attached), are shaped as waving snakes or dragons, their heads hidden behind the large copper alloy bosses. These bosses, contemporary but not originally attached to this bit, bear a proverb in French stamped on their rims. They belong to a large group of bosses, some inscribed, produced in Northern France or in the Southern Netherlands (see also 42.50.227).

Artist

Unknown

Date

ca. 1530–50

Medium

Iron alloy, copper alloy

Culture

bit, German or French; bosses, French or South Netherlandish

Department

Arms and Armor

Credit line

Gift of William H. Riggs, 1913