A Horse’s Brass
Exploring metal ornaments with a dual purpose — decoration and protection of horses
The other day, a friend of The House’s texted a photo of a round brass object with a stag motif and asked, “What is this?”
The House was a bit chagrined that the Bonheur Blog had yet to cover the topic of horse brasses, so we will now embark on an exploration of these fine pieces of equestrian frippery.
Horse brasses are metal ornaments with a dual purpose — decoration and protection of horses.
And for the origin story, dear readers, let us go straight to the source — The National Horse Brass Society of the United Kingdom, which explains:
“There are many known examples of decorations used on horse harness dating from the time when man first domesticated the wild horse and took a pride in ownership. As early man was very superstitious, the first form of decoration would appear to have been a talisman to ward off evil spirits from harming his horses. Throughout history various forms of talisman have been attached to the horse harness — from flashing objects to ward off the 'evil eye', to passages from the scriptures hung in purses around the animals' necks to appease their owners' gods.
The pendant type horse brass, as we know it today, was introduced into this country as recently as the 18th Century. It was probably brought here by an influx of Romanies who arrived in Britain about that time. These people were, and still are today, a very superstitious race and it was very probable that they decorated the foreheads of their horses with a shiny object to protect them from evil. Not only did they have a motive for such decoration, they also had the necessary skills of working in metal to produce these talisman from sheet brass.
All the earliest known horse brasses are hand made from sheet or latten brass. They were cut out using hand tools and were often hammered into shape. One of the easiest ways of recognising a handmade brass is by the hammer marks on the back. They are, however, very rare and prized by collectors. The evidence for attributing the origins of horse brasses to the Romanies is the use of Romany motifs in all the early brasses — ie. hearts, moons, stars, sun-flashes, etc.
It was some years before our carters took up the use of these brasses for decorating their harness and so starting off the era of horse brasses.”
So there you have it. The horse brass is a type of talisman (or an amulet, really, because it has an apotropaic purpose).
Horse brasses are highly collectible today — and not just by horsey types. They are being repurposed as Christmas ornaments, home decor and jewelry. But sometimes they are simply hung on a martingale, usually near a fireplace.
Horse brasses on martingales, photo courtesy of The National Horse Brass Society
Horse Brass Necklace with triskelion motif, House of Good Fortune Collection
Horse Brasses, House of Good Fortune Collection
Pillows incorporating horse brasses
Holiday Ornaments available on One Kings Lane
Horse brasses used as a charm. Wellcome Collection.
Horse brasses used as a charm. Wellcome Collection.