Two Riders - R. Savery - National Galleries of Scotland

 Salvete Omnes,

a new month has started and the Dog Days of the Summer have started as well - so let us start .

National Galleries of Scotland graciously allow us to share their digitized art collections, and one of period gems is this drawing by Roelandt Savery. (crica 1605-10AD)

.

Note that both riders are mounted on stallions and judging from their conformation these warhorses are of 'eastern', lighter, type. 

Are they the Old Polish kozaks cavalry ? Well, difficult to say - Savery had lived in Prague, Kingdom of Bohemia ( Austrian Hapsburg Empire) at least since 1604AD. But also he traveled down south to Croatia (then part of the Hapsburg Kingdom of Hungary) and Croats, Serbs of Krajina and Hungarians (including various ethnic horsemen of that Kingdom) used costumes, armor, weapons and horse tack similar to their Polish counterparts, and the preference to ride stallions and geldings instead of mares. Savery was a master of portraying of these East-Central European warriors, so just let us enjoy the drawing.

enjoy

Valete

A paint with a royal rider - Valdemar Christian and Potop 1656

 Salvete Omnes,

back in the XVII century, during the infamous Deluge - 1655-60- or the Swedish invasion and mayhem in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.
And from this period comes another splendid paint horse with a rider who was a son of a king, Valdemar Christian of Schleswig-Holstein.

Our prince in question was a cavalry commander within the Swedish royal army during the 1655 invasion, he commanded a regiment of reiters he had completed enrolling in Bremen,  at that time was a territory taxed and aligned with the Swedish realm.

Polish soldier, poet and chronicler Wespazjan Kochowski wrote that this Swedish mercenary and Danish prince was wounded at the battle of Golab in February 1656 and died in Lublin, around the time when the Polish-Lithuanian forces took the city from the Swedish occupiers in April 1656.

Some interesting elements of this horse tack

very ornate saddle and tack

the beautiful paint is shod with horseshoes

quite short shanks on this curb-bit, while forelock and mane are just flowing 

enjoy

valete

Splendid horses and aristocratic riders by Anselm van Hulle et al

 Salvete Omnes,

a nice May day -just  started listening to a new novel by C.J. Box - Storm Watch. 

Frederic Henry, prince of Orange

 

so on this nice May day let us enjoy some equestrian portraits showing members of the princes of Orange clan, attributed to Anselm van Hulle.

Amazing bays, one black and a paint horse.

Maurice of Nassau

Philip William , prince of Orange

Frederic Henry, prince of Orange

William II, prince of Orange

William the Silent

in the wiki commons gallery of this painter there are interesting portraits of the important men(and one woman) of this period

Among them two Polish or Hungarian looking costumed gentlemen 

 

 enjoy

Valete