Silver Stirrups & Equipage

PS is curious about a pair of silver stirrups necessary for riding a horse. We can all imagine a time when cars were not in our world yet, and we rode horses – or were pulled by them. And for thousands of years stirrups have been a ubiquitous and recognizable equine accoutrement. PS is wondering if her pair of stirrups are decorative or if they were used by a lady equestrian, and when, and where? 

These are South American stirrups dating from the early 19^th century, and they are SO SMALL that I, too, suspect they are lady’s stirrups, from a time when lady-feet were prized as dainty. They would have been used by a lady in 1820 or thereabouts. During the time when these stirrups were made, most women had borne an average of five kids, and who’s feet were SMALL after carrying such a load? 

Let us see just how universal stirrups were in the 19th century and in the 18th century, and how plentiful the relics of them ARE. Few stirrups are worth much in the marketplace as “equipage,” which is a word that means objects related to carriage via horse or horseback; that market is strong and active. 

Firstly, let us look at the ‘encased foot’ form of stirrup. This design is represented by the Spanish Colonial riding stirrup of the late 18th century, whose curved toe reflects the Moorish heritage of Spain, and with a decorative ornate attaching element to the saddle – a beautiful foliated band with a small slot. Those will only set you back around $300 for an antique pair, because so many existed. In Old Spain, silver stirrups were copied from the Moorish solid brass stirrups. In New Spain, of which our California was a part, stirrups were much the same. 

Other countries have their own forms of stirrups; for example, the Japanese stirrups of the late 19th century, called “Abumi” are also small, but are in the form of a “C” shape (not encasing the foot, but rests the foot on the bottom of that “C” shape) and beautiful in their simplicity. These are made in bronze and brass and can be worth $1,500. If you find a pair of Abumi which are cast iron with a beautiful gold-gilt inlay, then you have something valuable, but my bet is that you will think they are modern abstract works of art, and you might never recognize that they are stirrups from the 19th century. They are just so beautiful that you may have difficulty imagining a horseback rider’s feet functionally perched in them. In a wonderful C shaped curve from the Meiji period (1868-1911), they sell for upwards of $2,000 the pair. 

Something more recognizable is the American Old West stirrup, functional and still used in original form today, also with Spanish influence. An interesting sideline for collectors who collect “equipage” (see above), some American stirrups were created to support political candidates! Thus, in America of the 19th century, stirrups supported something other than the FOOT. 

A case in point are the stirrups that were made for the candidacy of Henry Clay, the Speaker of the House in the 19th century who ran in the 1844 Presidential Campaign. He loved horses and bred them in his home state of Kentucky, so his campaign created stirrups whose base – where the foot rests – read ‘HCLAY’. 

Although Henry Clay lost his bid for the presidency, he raised a famous racehorse, the greatest such horse of the 19th century and the sire of America’s National Thoroughbred Trotting Horse. That horse’s progeny was the magnificent “Clay Line” of great trotting horses. The horse – also named Henry Clay – passed away peacefully in 1867 and was buried. Later the horse would be exhumed and his skeleton mounted and put on display at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C. 

PS, your stirrups are not sterling at all, as sterling contains a great deal of pure silver. Your South American stirrups are made of Brazilian Britannica Metal (not containing very much silver content at all) in the style of Conquistador Stirrups from the 3rd Quarter of the19th century, made for a lady rider who likely had flouncy gowns to match these stirrups. 

The best of these South American lady’s stirrups were made in Brazil by the great Brazilian “equipage” ironmonger Correa de Lima, of Rio de Janeiro (1861-1873). A similar pair sold at New Orleans Auctions for $300.