Curb Bit
An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art
The mouthpiece, composed of scatches (flattened canons) with a gooseneck port, was intended for a horse with a good mouth, a thick tongue, and which leans too much on the bit. The scatches also disarm the lips (moving them aside from the gums) without pressing them too much. The copper pendants, hanging from the watering chain above the mouthpiece, had the purpose of ‘entertaining’ the horse, who, by playing with it with its tongue, would salivate and relax its jaw. Moreover, copper, reacting by electrolysis with the warmth and the moisture of the mouth, has a pleasant taste to horses. In contemporary equestrian manuals, these shanks are called à la gigotte, which means that the swivel ring’s hole is aligned (‘on the line’) with the axis of the banquet (piece to which the mouthpiece is attached), but the shank’s knee projects forwards. They were used on horses with ‘a natural beautiful position but with week loins or being weary to hold it.’ Used for dressage or leisure riding, this bit is also entirely adorned with chiseled and pierced vegetal and geometrical motifs, typical of the decoration used by the spur makers in the South East of Germany in the 16th and 17th centuries. Despite their name, spur makers were not only made spurs, but also small equestrian hardware like bits, stirrups, muzzles, cavessons or curry-combs, sometimes adorned with the same intricate decoration.
Arms and Armor
An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art
The principal goals of the Arms and Armor Department are to collect, preserve, research, publish, and exhibit distinguished examples representing the art of the armorer, swordsmith, and gunmaker. Arms and armor have been a vital part of virtually all cultures for thousands of years, pivotal not only in conquest and defense, but also in court pageantry and ceremonial events. Throughout time the best armor and weapons have represented the highest artistic and technical capabilities of the society and period in which they were made, forming a unique aspect of both art history and material culture.