Showcase 53, 54. Turkish ceremonial horse harness of the XVIIIth century

In the late XVIIIth century after the glorious victory of the Russian Empire in the Russo-Turkish war, Sultan Abdul Hamid I sent Catherine the Great a saddle with a full set of ceremonial harness, sabres and a pernat. The war ended in 1774 and the gift was presented a year later, in 1775, on the occasion of the treaty of Kuchuk Kainarji under which Russia gained access to the Black Sea and the right for her trading vessels to sail through the Dardanelles. All the items of the set are made of gold and silver and incrusted with a large number of precious stones. The plume-holder alone is decorated with 1,030 diamonds, which are set off by a magnificent goldish Brazil topaz. The gifts include a silver horse bucket and silver horseshoes with silver nails. The horse cloth of silver brocade is embroidered with coral and lazurite.

The following Russo-Turkish war of 1787–1792 ended as the previous one with the victory of the Russian army, under A.V. Suvorov and F.F. Ushakov. Again the Turkish sultan, Selim III, sent a rich set of harness after the conclusion of the Treaty of Jassy. It consists of items made of gold and adorned with diamonds, rubies and emeralds. The horse-cloth was embroidered with gold threads and small plates with diamonds and rubies.