The Hermitage has more than 2000 items of horse harness and caparison. There are sets used only on ceremonial occasions and simpler pieces for everyday use; they include saddles and bridles, horsecloths and shabracks, and all kinds of attire and other objects used by riders and coachmen. Made by craftsmen in Russia, Europe and the Orient, mostly in the period from the late seventeenth to early twentieth century, these objects employ a variety of materials (leather, wood, metal, ivory, textiles) and techniques (embroidery, casting, chasing, gilding, carving). Forming the core of the collection were the contents of the Museum of Court Carriages (the Stables Museum), which was closed in 1922; these were later supplemented by acquisitions from private collections and other sources.
An important part of the collection is composed of harness for the six-horse coronation carriage created in 1856 for the coronation of Emperor Alexander II, which was later used for the coronations of his successors, Alexander III and Nicholas II.
Between 1855 and 1894 a new set of harness was used for state funeral ceremonies. This included funerary banners with the arms of the Russian provinces, titular coats-of-arms, horse caparison and decorative pieces for the catafalque.
A whole range of commemorative items once belonged to members of the Russian imperial family and other historical figures. These include the saddle of Catherine II, covered in red velvet embroidered with gold and cowrie shells; Nicholas I’s hussar saddle that was a gift from the Sultan and Padishah of the Ottoman Empire; Alexander II’s general’s overcoat and bashlyk (hood); Alexander III’s four-horse carriage and travelling chest; horse armour used by Grigory Orlov; the saddle and leopard-skin shabrack used by Eugène Beauharnais as Colonel of the French Horse Chasseurs.
Relatively small in size but still of considerable interest is the ceremonial, everyday and funerary attire and headwear used by servants in the Stables Office and by Cossack royal bodyguards. The collection is supplemented by travelling furniture sets, books, watercolours and photographs.
Ludmila Shatilova
