Liao and Qing Dynastic mounted archery
Ciao, Stephen:
The image of Liao Dynastic saddle is as same as the one in Barkol Museum. It means, this type of saddle probably is invented since the 10 c. AD, because I couldn't find the earlier example. The same type also is pouplar to display in many Song Dynastic works. And, it is used until the Qing Dynasty.
The tiger leather quiver has the typical Turks/Uygur style, which the arrow heads point out. But, it is the late period of this type of quiver. Because, it is hard to find in the later era.
The image of Liao Dynastic saddle is as same as the one in Barkol Museum. It means, this type of saddle probably is invented since the 10 c. AD, because I couldn't find the earlier example. The same type also is pouplar to display in many Song Dynastic works. And, it is used until the Qing Dynasty.
The tiger leather quiver has the typical Turks/Uygur style, which the arrow heads point out. But, it is the late period of this type of quiver. Because, it is hard to find in the later era.
There are subtle changes in the design of saddles from the just before the Tang dynasty to the Qing.
Even though they might look similar on a horse in a a painting, the saddles' structures changed. Despite that, there are amazing survivals of older features in some individual saddles. The Khitan painting shows a saddle type that was starting to appear around the 10th-11th centuries. Earlier saddles had side bars (the two parallel pieces of timber on either side of the horse's spine) with very complex shapes. The part between the pommel and cantle swelled downwards an usually supported a centrally mounted girth and forward mounted stirrup straps. At the time of the Khitan painting, the stirrup mounting slots moved closer to the central position of the girth strap. The side bars became narrower and their lower edges became straighter. However, this does not mean that earlier features died out. They were sometimes present, but did not predominate.
The reason for some of the changes is that the riding style changed about the same time. Paintings from the Tang and earlier show a riding style with the legs only slightly more bent with stirrups than had been the case in the Han dynasty without them. The rider sat down in the saddle much like some modern riding styles in Europe. What came next was a riding style with the stirrup leathers much shorter and the rider stood in the stirrups and did not sit down on the seat of the saddle so solidly. This style of riding is still practised in Mongolia and other regions. The Qing also rode this way. Despite the fact that most painting was stylised and was not very realistic in body proportions, there is a clear change in leg position when riders are painted. It is not universal, but it is statisitically significant.
There were other changes in design which had a minor effect. For instance, the number, location and method of attaching girths changed over time and geographical area. Sometimes stirrups were attached with straps through slots in the side bars or rings attached to them or even through rings on a leather harness over the saddle.
Different types of saddle were often used in the same area and sometimes are found in the same tomb. In northern tribes, Russian anthropologists have identified different saddles being used by men and women though this does not appear to be as pronounced in Mongolia, Manchuria and China.
Even though they might look similar on a horse in a a painting, the saddles' structures changed. Despite that, there are amazing survivals of older features in some individual saddles. The Khitan painting shows a saddle type that was starting to appear around the 10th-11th centuries. Earlier saddles had side bars (the two parallel pieces of timber on either side of the horse's spine) with very complex shapes. The part between the pommel and cantle swelled downwards an usually supported a centrally mounted girth and forward mounted stirrup straps. At the time of the Khitan painting, the stirrup mounting slots moved closer to the central position of the girth strap. The side bars became narrower and their lower edges became straighter. However, this does not mean that earlier features died out. They were sometimes present, but did not predominate.
The reason for some of the changes is that the riding style changed about the same time. Paintings from the Tang and earlier show a riding style with the legs only slightly more bent with stirrups than had been the case in the Han dynasty without them. The rider sat down in the saddle much like some modern riding styles in Europe. What came next was a riding style with the stirrup leathers much shorter and the rider stood in the stirrups and did not sit down on the seat of the saddle so solidly. This style of riding is still practised in Mongolia and other regions. The Qing also rode this way. Despite the fact that most painting was stylised and was not very realistic in body proportions, there is a clear change in leg position when riders are painted. It is not universal, but it is statisitically significant.
There were other changes in design which had a minor effect. For instance, the number, location and method of attaching girths changed over time and geographical area. Sometimes stirrups were attached with straps through slots in the side bars or rings attached to them or even through rings on a leather harness over the saddle.
Different types of saddle were often used in the same area and sometimes are found in the same tomb. In northern tribes, Russian anthropologists have identified different saddles being used by men and women though this does not appear to be as pronounced in Mongolia, Manchuria and China.