Item ref: 4062
Private collection, United Kingdom
Formed entirely of brilliant mercury-gilt copper alloy and finely cast in relief, stirrups such as these would have been reserved for use on gala occasions, conceivably with the hunt at the court of Versailles.
The side-bars curve strongly to form a horseshoe-shape, each rising as an architectural arrangement of neo-classical acanthus leaf ornament to support standing loops for the leathers. The circular treads are a developmental feature of the stirrups fashionable in France and Bourbon Spain within the first half of the 18th century. Within the newly emerged neo-classical period of Louis XV’s reign this configuration has lent itself to the tracery patera here forming the central portion of the tread. The very exact planning of these neo-Roman and Greek motifs contrasts with the freedoms and comparative frivolity of the rococo period which had dominated design since about 1730.
These innovative neo-classical motifs were among the interpretations of the young designers who had taken the ‘Grand Tour’ of classical Italy and Greece, or had at least studied under those who had. In the instance of these stirrups, the acanthus with its architectural function, the band of palms included within the concentric detail of the patera design and the beaded and milled mouldings bordering the treads are all features much employed within the neo-classical repertoire. The same palette of these and other related motifs was famously exploited by the French makers of de-luxe firearms, sword hilts and scabbards, extending to the conclusion of the French First Empire.
The parallel cultural shift in Britain brought forth Robert Adam. His designs for architectural facades and interiors offer us a clear display of the motifs involved in the decoration of these stirrups. Adam’s beautifully engraved plates of these designs were published in instalments from 1773, under the title Works in Architecture; an original edition is preserved in the Victoria & Albert Museum, London (No. 38041800989097).