Thursday, September 20, 2012

Turkish horses and their tack in Melchlior Lorck's art I





Salve,

 I have been wanting to share with you some XVI century prints depicting Ottoman forces on horseback.
These prints were drawn and carved into woodcuts by German artist Melchlior Lorck who visited, as a member of the Holy Roman Emperor Embassy under Ogier Ghiselin de Busbecq to Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, Istanbul in 1555-1559.

Here are the prints - from stallions dressed for war and parade to very ordinary work horses and even a mule, albeit very richly tacked.















 to be continued
ps
the top print shows a very splendidly attired horse and rider, quite similar to the Polish and Hungarian winged hussars. These Ottoman Turkish riders were called Deliler (singular Delil) and by the Christian writers from Poland, Holy Roman Empire, France, or England simply Deli.
...more on Melchlior Lorck and his art here and here