two days ago I blogged about a reconstruction of a late winged hussar towarzysz by Osprey's team of authors - Mr. Vincent W. Rospond,writer, and painter Raffaele Ruggeri.
Today, again I am looking at the Osprey's winged hussar towarzysz and I am showing my quick sketch - attempt to add some elements in that Osprey illustration to show how such late winged hussar could have appeared - it is rather conjectural,as period iconography is rather limited, or I should say it is limited to me. For now he is missing a bullet box and his sword.
But I am not sure how long it was, but you can see some of its size in Bellotto's painting.
I took off his gloves as I do not know any period painting showing national cavalry wearing gloves during this period.
Nota bene another Polish military costume researcher Karol Linder (his book is titled 'Dawne wojsko Polskie') did reconstruct some period cavalry men wearing gloves (1950s ).
Additionally, according to the uniformed reforms introduced by the grand Crown Hetman Branicki of XI 1763, winged hussars were supposed to wear armour .
It is wonderful that Bellotto painted a proporzec-carrying towarzysz unit of Crown winged hussars, even if the horsemen are this small :)
Perhaps I should try to reconstruct a retainer, those soldiers carried no proporzec lance but fire arms and had a special uniform and headgear, and several musicians - a trumpeter and drummer, as drummers were particularly important in the late winged hussar 'chorągiew' (banners/companies).
Until the next time
Very interesting.
ReplyDeleteFor some reason 18th C. Polish military costume is less popular, less well known than the late 17th C. ones (Siege of Vienna? Spectacular Hussars actually 'winged'?).
The Volontaires recruited by Maurice de Saxe in Lithuania still had a 'pacolet', nominally a 'follower / retainer', attached to each Uhlan.