Rare & Delightful Mughal Rearing horse cast brass 18th century India Raj

Rare & Delightful Mughal Rearing horse cast brass 18th century India

This type of cast brass horse was made in India between the 16th-18th Century and is a rare and exceptional work of art. There are two types of horse that are known: the standing and the rearing (or galloping), with the rearing being the rarer of the two.

It is a solid, heavy piece of cast brass and looks stunning. Cast brass is often mistakenly called ‘bronze’ but there is a difference in the alloy and these fall into the classification of “cast brass”.

The shape and design are attributed to Persian artists who came into India in the late 16th century, bringing with them a tradition dating back to ancient times. We have included an image of one of the earlier types of cast brass horse that is currently in the State Hermitage Museum (Saint Petersburg), dating from 10th century Persia.

In 17th century Mughal India, equestrian portraits of Rajas/Princes astride rearing horses were introduced and became popular (see images above). The horses are usually depicted with large oversized bodies and disproportionately small heads. The earlier ones often depict the horse with an open mouth as can be seen in our cast brass horse.

This example is beautifully portrayed with a naturalistic, rearing pose, open mouth and pricked up attentive ears. The oversized body, large rotund belly and small head is typical of the earlier period of this type of cast brass horse. We would date this from 1650-1750 based on the information provided.

There are some chisel marks visible on the underside, mainly near the legs, which is a sign of age as the metal workers would hand finish cast brass pieces once they were removed from the casting.

The front hooves are resting on a representation of the lotus flower.

The lotus flower is a symbol that is common in India and the Far East.

In India, lotus flowers represent spiritual enlightenment, growth, purity, and birth, among many other meanings. The flower symbolizes one’s ability to perform their duty without being influenced by any desire, pleasure, or gain. Therefore, this rearing horse with its front, raised hooves represents the combination of power and spiritual enlightenment.

This is a magnificent piece of Indian history that we made for someone important and wealthy.

Only the most wealthy would have been able to afford such a luxurious piece when this was made.

This is a very high quality work of art and looks stunning!

This exquisite horse measures: 27cm (H) x 19cm (L) x 10cm (D).

It weighs a solid 3kg.

There is an oblong base which may have attached this horse to a larger piece such as an incense burner. There are some remnants of green felt on the bottom edge of the base which shows that it was on a table top on display (the felt was to stop the horse base scratching the table top).

Christies offered a standing type Mughal cast brass horse (London, 2015) with an estimate of

£10,000-£15,000 and it was sold for just over £14,000 (including fees). It was dated to the 16th/17th century and offered with “a small repair to body”. You can see the open mouth in the Christies example just the same as ours.

Bonhams offered a similar rearing horse for £10,000-£15,000 in April 2017, dating their example to the 17th century. The Bonhams example also had a similar style of saddle, open mouth and raised almond shaped eyes. It was also part of something larger as can be seen by the fittings visible on the underside.

Clarke’s Auctions at Semley recently sold a later (20th Century) example for just over £1,000 (including fees). Clarke’s example had a similar lotus flower that the front hooves rested on (see last image).
However, their example is clearly a later one and less graceful in pose.
Also, the eyes are not raised from the surface, rather engraved, and they are more of a lozenge shape than an almond shape.

Please see the last image provided where you can see that this beautiful antique was offered at auction with an estimate of £700-£1,000. More importantly, it was described as “17th/18th century”. It has been sympathetically and professionally restored as it previously had lost a lot of its original patination. It has a wonderful ‘golden’ hue just as it would have originally had.

The photographs were taken outdoors in the winter afternoon sunshine without any filters or modification.

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