Polonia Restituta - 100 years

Salvete Omnes.
100 years ago a sovereign Polish state was reborn after having been partitioned and ruled by three European powers in 1795AD.

White Eagle - 1919-27

My family and I, like all Poles around the world. celebrate this 100th anniversary and salute all ancestors, men and women, who worked on restoring our Polish state to most desired sovereign status. I especially salute Polish peasants and Polish nobility, two social groups who fought for our reborn independence.
note that the 1918 or year zero of officially reborn Republic was amidst flames of war, and the war or more properly wars and conflicts were to be continued for another 3 years.
we have had more than 1000 years of history as a sovereign state:

from our first Christian ruler prince Mieszko I of Piast clan

 his fabulously successful son and king Boleslaw I

Jagiellon Poland - crica 1436

under the Jagiellon dynasty 1490

Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth

II Republic

present III Republic - under the EU Lisbon Treaty, rules and regulations are we still as in depended as they claim ?



Vivat Polonia Resituta
during the XX century we Poles were first to fight, in World War I more than 1 million Poles died, world War II saw loss - death, migration, refugees -  of many millions, country population reduced from close to 35 million in 1939 to some 23 million in 1945

I like this poster by painter and graphic artist Marek Zulawski  

valete!
ps
maps from Wiki Commons
ps

I salute tsar Nicolas I Romanov, who crowned himself a King of Polish Congress Kingdom in 1829 and the same year concluded a war with the Ottoman empire, and ordered that the Ottoman cannons captured should be sent to Warsaw with  the words that he, the King of Polish Kingdom, avenged the death of our king Wladyslaw III -
 
 Vladislaus by God's grace king of Crown of Kingdom of Poland, Hungary, Dalmatia, Croatia, Rascia (Serbian Grand Principality), Supreme Prince of Duchy of Lithuania, lord of Pomerania and Ruthenia.
 
(at Varna in 1444, here Matejko painting).

****
last but not least - Happy Veterans Day! -

Bernardo Bellotto - details from his Warsaw paintings I

Salvete Omnes,
I have been itching to visit Warsaw museums to take a closer look at various Warsaw paintings (27 paintings in total, all oil on canvas) by Bernando Bellotto known in Polish Kingdom as Canaletto.
My reasons are simple, these paintings contain multitude of information related to Old Polish material history, eg civilian and military attire and costume, but especially within the scope of my blog  the horse topics:  from Old Polish horses shown profusely (from fine steeds to nags), riding equipment, sumptuous parade carriages to lowly peasant carts.
For example let's take a look at this painting

 showing situated at Krakowskie Przedmiescie street 34  Kościół Wizytek (Church of St. Joseph of the Visitationists) built during a long period of 1720-65 (consecrated in 1763) . This is perhaps a hay market scene, with peasant carts filled to a brim with hay.
going from left to right:

Old Polish horse saddled etc lead by a servant with two dogs by its hind legs

carts with hay and one wagon already empty. note the small size of the horse pulling this cart, also a fragment of a cat with a barrel, perhaps with beer, since beer had been daily drink popular in Poland

a peasant cart with sacks of something (grain?) pulled by small horses (harness off, horses feeding) and a small carriage (Basztarda[Pl.]  diligence[Fr.] or coupe)pulled by a pair of black carriage horses (not very splendorous during those times, when teams of 4 and 6 or more horses were all rage and fashion)

more carts with hay, we see variously colored  small draft horses, in between a servant (most likely) riding a taller horse with a sky blue schabraque . Cart horses harness includes a duga with hołoble ( shaft bows with ) harness - 'chomąto podlaskie' - a typical driving harness in Old Poland.

here it appears that the painter showed what appears to me  a  servant, perhaps a  in his lord's uniform  standing along with a burgher woman, with a fragment of another  carriage (perhaps another coupe?) behind them

Valete!

Pieśń Legionów (Jeszcze Polska nie zginęła) - Juliusz Kossak

Salvete Omnes,
[in Polish]

mamy 100-lecie odzyskania Niepodleglosci - vivat Polonia Restituta!
Przypomnijmy, ze 1 Listopada 1918 roku ludność Lwowa (Lviv, Ukraina dzisiaj) ruszyła bronic naszego Leopolis przed agresja armii ukraińskiej - dobra bo na gorąco pisana książka o walkach we Lwowi ( - :) )
ergo, z przyjemnością zalaczam link do albumu ''Pieśń Legionów (Jeszcze Polska nie zginęła)'' z ilustracjami Juliusza Kossaka i wstępnem słowem Stanisława Schnür-Pepłowskiego.
.. często zapomniana zwrotka

 .. i moja ulubiona ilustracja z wojewoda kijowskim panem Stefanem Czarnieckim na dropiatym koniku

Valete!

Polnischer Kosak - Anthonis van Dyck

Salvete Omnes,
quick entry - Anthonis van Dyck (or his followers because of the length of the robe) a painting titled Polish Kosak. So it is perhaps not a Kosak (medium Polish cavalryman) but rather a young noble page or retainer riding his bay horse bareback, wearing a long zupan (indicating later 1640s and after), and a red 'kolpak' with 'szkofia' with three crane feather trimmed with fur.

 It is located in the Bavarian State Painting Collections.

by Anthonis van Dyck

 Nota bene Jan Karol Chodkiewicz?

Valete!
ps
via Wikimedia Commons 

Zygmunt Braur - wspomnienie

Salvete Omnes,
dawno temu, będąc jeszcze małym chłopcem w PRL, czytałem artykuł o prywatnym hodowcy koni arabskich gdzieś przy kopalni siarki. Oczywiście później natrafiłem na wzmiankę w pracy Witolda Pruskiego (o czym poniżej). Chodzi o pana Zymunta Braura (1909-1999) z Dobrowa. Pan Zygmunt był to unikalny hodowca polskich koni arabskich z rodu Kuhailana, Sarmata et polski Beduin niczym sławny acz nieszczęśliwy emir Wacław Złota Broda Rzewuski 100 lat wcześniej.
Ostatnio coś mnie tknęło i przeszukałem trochę net i rezultaty wyszły nawet całkiem, całkiem ciekawe - po małym wstępie linki do rożnych filmów i artykułów.
Jak rzekłem wyżej, pan Zygmunt został opisany przez  badacza Witolda Pruskiego w ''Dwa wielki polskiej hodowli koni arabskich i jej sukcesy na swiecie'', strona 317, jak i w miesięczniku 'Kon Polski', 1976, nr4. ss12-13.
Pan Braur zaczął hodowle w 1937, kupując do swej 20-to hektarowej zagrody dwie klacze półkrwi arabskiej Westalke 19..(Marzauk II - Westalka) i Rulete 19..(Hermit or.ar. -Bystra). Konie te oraz ich potomstwa zostały mu zrabowane bądź zabite przez żołnierzy sowieckich w 1944 roku. W 1960 roku (po latach perypetii , min za działalność w podziemiu był skazany i wieziony przez komunistów) rozpoczął od nowa hodowle kupując czystej krwi arabskiej Murcje  (Comet -Muszkatela) i Wielka Zorze (Wielki Szlem -Zorza Pelkinska) z Nowego Dworu.
Reszta to historia, w 1994 roku został uhonorowany nagroda przez polski związek hodowców konia arabskiego.
Odszedl na wieczna warte w 1999 roku.
Dokument - Koń jaki jest ..." Krótka biografia hodowcy koni arabskich Zygmunta Braura"
inny film dokumentalny - Arab w siarce -wspomnienie o inż.Zygmuncie Braurze z Dobrowa 27 09 2012 r.
troche artykulow
artykul z GW Kielce - 
w tym nekrolog-wspomnienie z 1999 roku.
blogowy wypis-wspomnienie

słynne konie hodowli pana Braura -
klacz Megara (Branibor- Murcja)
ogier Ben-Comet (Czardasz-Murcja) - pierwszy ogier prywatnej hodowli dopuszczony do wyścigów na państwowych torach wyścigów konnych na Służewcu.( potomek oryginalnego arabskiego ogiera Kuhailan Haifi)
ogier Mehmet Ibn Sabbat (Sabbat-Megara)
ogier Murat-Nur ( Banat - Murat-Hanum)
ogier Murat-Akbar (Aloes- Murat-Hanum)
klacz Wielka Este (El Tripoli-Wielka Zorza)
klacz Murat-Hanum  ( Muharyt-Murcja)
et wiele innych
Na koniec należy dodać, ze pan Braur nie byl sam choć był największym hodowca w swoim programie hodowli kuheilanow, mianowicie byli mali hodowcy otrzymujący klacze arabskie, tacy jak Anna Dębska w Cholewach k. Blonia, Andrzej Ou w Rozlainie po Warszawa, Wladyslaw Sadowskiw Stobnie(kaliskie) etc.

Valete!
ps
 In English -
   this article about Polish Arabian horse breeders 1945-97, including Zygmunt Braur's Oaza Kuhailan Stud.
ps'
ostatnio poznałem hodowce, który kontynuuje hodowle koni  arabskich w typie kuhailana podchodzących z hodowli pana Braura - vivat!

Władysław Szerner - part II

Salvete Omnes,
8 years ago I posted this entry about Wladyslaw Szerner.
well, nowadays there is a short page about this painter on Wikipedia and even a gallery - therefore I will coral some paintings from that gallery:

 and three paintings by his son Wladyslaw Karol Szerner

Valete!

Baroque Equestrian portrait

Salvete Omnes,
back to my favorite Baroque period in equestrian history and some very fine equestrian portraits of the first half of the XVII century.
do note the horses, their color, tack (long shanked curb-bit) and riding aids like spurs, armor, and finally the rein holding hand's position as well as the seat and legs.

Valete!
ps
the identities of the men portrayed is given in the titles of each painting - all works come from wikimedia commons

o siodle i czapraku

Savete Omnes,
[in Polish]
szybki link wideo -  na swej stronie na Youtube kolega Karol Tomczyk ma nagranie wideo o siodle i czapraku. Karol napisał tez swój własny podręcznik o jeździe konnej i rekreacji, i obecnie szuka wydawcy.
Jak zawsze wysoce polemiczny (dla jeżdżących  sportowo) ale przede wszystkim arcypraktyczny sposób na jeździectwo niesportowe, książka dla jeżdżących dla przyjemności a nie dla sportu i wyczynu - choć być może sportowcom tez by się przydało ja przeczytać.
przy okazji, to ten złożony koc tworzący czaprak to w języku staropolskim 'mitug' (mituk) czyli mały czapraczek.

Valete...

Ancient bit from Dodona Sanctuary

Salvete Omnes,
a little time jump today, we will time travel to the ancient Epirus where at Dodona since the time immemorial had been a sanctuary and oracle.

Pegasus or  winged horse from Louvre

Excavations brought forward various and amazing objects of art from across the ancient Greek antiquity.
 Among them, on display at the Athens Museum,  there are the fine examples of the ancient metal forging arts from the IV century BC/Ante Christum , a two different bit parts (one from Dodona, and one from an unknown location), shown at the museum as one large bit: with large S psalia and elaborate discs on the 'bit-bar,' shortened ringchain and studded bars between the psalia and discs. The s-shaped psalia or cheekpieces look a bit like the wild boar's tusks and could make the horse head appear quite unusually grotesque. Similar bit is displayed on the Alexander Mosaic.

the way this composite bit is constructed or displayed on a see-through horse's head -
- with its discs sharp, pointy and this large inside the horse's mouth and the metal chain rings joining the two pieces very short and with rings loose inside the mouth (perhaps dangling on the tongue) to create one horse bit,
- then perhaps this display  in this entirety presents a hypothetical piece of horse equipment, and not a real one (my old rendering of the Persian bits now make me think twice about them too). Because how would they  operate this bit without completely ruining a horse's mouth  (as it is 'reconstructed' in the museum).

a horse from Dodona, rider missing - note this  horse with rider from Boston Museum, dated to late VI century BC.

horse from Louvre

Valete!
ps
Alexander Mosaic from Pompei -  the Persian Achaemenid horses with S-shaped bit

***

Codex Canadensis - horses et al

Salvete omnes,
Columbus Day or the day of discovery of the Americas by the Europeans is tomorrow although in the US its celebration's changes the date and actually hoovers around the 12th of October (this year it was the 8th).
On wiki commons there is a gallery of extraordinary works from circa AD 1700, showing the American Indians, flora and fauna of New France or the France held lands in North America.
The collection is called Codex Canadensis and was perhaps drawn by Luois Nicolas,  one of the Jesuit priest-missionaries in la Nouvelle-France.

Among the drawings there are two plates showing horses.
 I am not sure about the early horse history in present day  Canada.  So let's put some faith in the writing that says that the drawing shows one of the stallions sent (along with 60 fine mares) to New France in 1660s. And that from these horses more fine horses were bred in French Canada.
Canadian horse breeders association put on their webpage that the French horses were sent in 1663 and that there were 12 of them, but more shipments followed.
Perhaps this horse is a spotted one,

Dr Deb Bennett in her book Conquerrors states that this horse is of Breton horse ancestry. (page 390).
Francis Parkman in his book - Count Frontenac and New France Under Louis XIV - writes about the horses in Quebec a bit - first, that the stocking of the country with cattle, sheep and horses was done with the royal shipments and at king's expense and distributed gratuitously among the settlers, and no youngones were to be killed until there was enough stock to replenish itself (p.212-13). So perhaps horses had been arriving yearly for some time, eg one books claims period of 1665-1671, first shipment being 2 stallions and 20 mares.
Parkman writes more about the curious horse history in Quebec, namely circa 1710AD that the inhabitants engaged in horse breeding on  such large scale that this horse husbandry worried so much the royal governors (in true paternal fashion - he, he, the French absolutism) that the royal governor  proclaimed a new law forbidding the possession of more than 2 horse and 1 foal. Excess had to be removed away or killed  - presumably for meat and skin- in the ensuing harvest year (p. 279).
The second drawing shows a horse of the New Holland (New Netherland) or the Dutch colony in North America - although circa 1700 AD there were not Dutch colonies on the American continent, only in the Caribbean, and of Virginia of the Atlantic coast. Perhaps the Dutch imported those from the Spanish colonies or their holding in South America (Portuguese colonies there).

What is even more interesting those Canadian horse were being spread west and southwest from Quebec by French traders and their native trading partners. Deb Bennett wrote in her book that perhaps as early as 1675 Pierre Moreau known as La Taupine was trading horses to the Indians of the Illinois country (p. 384). Perhaps especially after the Montreal proclamation of 1710  that those French horses made their way onto edge the Great Plains, spreading from Ontario west to Saskatchewan and south to French outpost of St. Louis (present day Missouri). There they met the Spanish horses coming from the New Spain. During the XVIII century the Indian ponies and wild mustangs became a product of this mixing of Spanish and French-Canadian horses.

I think I have to get The Epic Journey of the Canadian Horse: History and Hope from Louis XIV to the Present in order to learn more
Valete!

Cilician coins - Achaemenid Empire horsemen

Salvete Omnes,
I have not been to ancient Persia lately, hence there is this opportunity revisit, via Coin Archives .
In particular, there is this set of coins from Tarsos related to the period of 450-400 BC when a number(?) of  Syennesis of Cilicia (Cukurova, modern Turkey)  or the rulers of the Achaemenid satrapy, were important, perhaps semi-independent lords of that important satrapy during the tumultuous V century BC.
The coins contain plenty of detailed information - horse type, horse tack, tied forelocks and tails, arms and armor of the horsemen and king-divine figures etc.
1.fabulously detailed coin with a horseman typically armed with a bow and wearing kyrbasia
2. a horseman wearing a Median coat or kantus
3. another horseman wearing a kantus
4. horseman wearing kyrbasia
and more Cilcian satrapy coins - more or less damaged - but still amazing

Valete!
ps
details from drawings by Flandin of the Apadana (Persepolis) staircase procession