Inventory

Flanchard

Full Description:

A rare kidney-shaped flanchard, this item is perhaps more elegantly described by the Tibetans who refer to it as sga’i am¹ cog which, literally, means ears of the saddle. Hung at the sides, usually as a pair, they were tucked below the edges of a saddle in order to protect the sides of the horse from the abrasion of the rider’s leg or boot.

Formed of a hard piece of leather, it is decorated in two sections. The upper, lobed section is in black, with a red honeycomb or tortoise-shell pattern and has holes for suspension reinforced with brass eyelets. The lower section is a tour de force in Tibetan leather painting. Painted gold against a red background, dense clouds border a middle section of lush sprays of leafy stems within which reside two lobed cartouches, both filled with makara dragons writhing amid large peonies.