Friday, March 15, 2024

Horses of Francis Grant

the Germanic queen of the British empire in full glory

 Salvete Omnes,





a short Friday entry, but heavy with the great talent, beauty of execution and subject matter and of  the XIX century Scottish brushmaster.

self-portrait

Francis Grant was a scion of the Scottish and British aristocracy (like sir Henry Raeburn etc) , educated as a lawyer who eventually decided to become a preeminent portrait of the Victorian era.














and some soldiers who supported their Queen with their swords and lances 

this general was taken prisoner by the Americans during the battle of Chippewa Lake, 1814 - here in the uniforms of the House Guard Cavalry?

Sir James Hope Grant as a Lieutenant Lancers 9th Lancers


Enjoy

Valete


Wednesday, March 13, 2024

The oldest known saddles - Subeixi Culture

 Salvete Omnes,

One of the oldest saddles found to this date - the Subeixi/Subeshi culture cemeteries (in Turpan/Turfan, Xinjang in PRofChina) contained saddles and horse tack, along with other martial culture and human mummified burials. Similar to the Altai Saka of Pazyryk/Ukok (known from the Soviet Union prof. Rudenko's discoveries and alter research in Russian Federation and Mongolia), these horse people, perhaps the Tocharians and/or the offshoot of the Saka of the pointed hats or Tigraxauda as known in the ancient Persia eg 

Apadana, Persepolis, the Saka delegation leading their tribute to Darius I, perhaps their own special war horse, a different type or breed

king Skunkha



the Behistun Darius the Great's inscription

Issyk


,   I wrote in 2011 a little bit about old Saka saddles in this post. And in this a did a sketch of Saka Tigraxauda.


 Patrick Wertmann  et al.,  The earliest directly dated saddle for horse-riding from a mid-1st millennium BCE.  Female burial in Northwest China (2023),  the article with illustrations - here  text, or pdf.



Subeixi saddle in more technical detail
comparison between saddles from Yanghai, Tuekta, Subeixi and Pazyryk no 3

saddle - different views - oxen, or perhaps goat





and more 



Yanghai cemetery

Saka of the Peaked Hat




the famous scale armor



bow with gorytus - ATARN's  Karpowicz & Selby article from 2010 



Prof. Mair's article about the Tarim basin mummies  from Penn State. 

Valete

Tuesday, March 12, 2024

Edgar S. Paxson - Wild West brushes & pencils of Montana

 Salvete Omnes,


a little Wild West frontier art done by a real pioneer 



and soldier.



mural art from the Montana Capitol 

Lewis and Clark 

Death of John Bozeman of the Bozeman Trail

Native of New York, American painter Samuel Edgar Paxson (1852-1919) was a Montana pioneer, adventurer, settler, and US soldier during the brutal US war in the Philippines, was a survivor and injured in process of the Army naval transport ship wrecking outside Japan  - here his short biography from the Montana Historical Society or University of Montana site

chief Joseph of Nez Perce surrender

explorer Pierre de la Verendrye

Both Montana genre and historical artists  Edgar  Paxson and Charlie Russell were friends during their lives, apparently lifetime friends, and Russell eulogized Paxson's  untimely passing. 




Custer's defeat and Lakota victory - Little Big Horn battle




Valete

Saturday, March 9, 2024

Jozef Brandt's horse sketches from Polish museums digital collections

 Salvete Omnes,



another weekend is in full swing - so I would like to share some of the equestrian-themed drawings by this maestro of pencil and brush, from Poland's national collections, like this Brandt's page at the National Museum in Warsaw






and the peasant farmer's wagon and his two horses

and a 'little' red cow, the gentle bovine that has  been the most wondrous provider of her milk, cream, butter, meat and leather etc  for many thousands of years. 


Enoy

Valete