Antique Islamic Central Asian Muslim Horseman Turkoman Turkmen Horse Saddle

Antique, 19th century, Islamic Central Asian Muslim horseman, Turkoman -Turkmen horse saddle. A wooden tree constructed with a horn in the shape of a swan head and high cantle covered by rawhide and faced on the top by brown leather decorated with numerous metal studs of various shapes.
 
CONDITION: All parts of the saddle are firm and stable, signs of usage with some age wear overall, the center of the seat cracked, with a small repair, otherwise in good condition.
 
MEASUREMENTS:
 
Overall length: 52.5 cm (20.67 inches)
Width :36.5cm (14.37)
Height: 26.5 cm (10.43 inches)
 
The Turkmens were nomadic tribes with a special affinity with their horses, tall and elegant, which they bred to be especially swift for their slave raids. Chinese emperors sent expeditions to acquire them, and at the end of the nineteenth century the Russians developed them into the Akhal Teke breed of today. These horses, which reached England in the eighteenth century, make up part of the ancestry of present-day racehorses.