Selle Des Steppes

Histoires De Carres > Spring - Summer 2021

This virtuoso design by Wlodek Kaminski reproduces a saddle from late 19th century Turmenistan, conserved in the Emile Hermes collection. This ceremonial saddle, with its high pommel skilfully riveted with fine horn plates, features an embroidered cushion and cover. The croupelin, which covers the horse's lower back during parades, features a two-headed eagle, emblem of the Russian Empire, amid a varied bestiary and an abundance of floral motifs. The two crowned heads symbolise Europe and Asia, the continents across which its vast territory was spread at the time. Before the inauguration of the Trans-Siberian Railway in 1904, it took more than 6 months to cross the 5,7771 miles that separate Moscow from Vladivostok.