17TH CENTURY OTTOMAN TURKISH HORSE BRIDLE MEDALLION

Cast bronze, formerly gilt. Hexagonal with high domed center, relief decorated in foliage. Three edge piercings for attachment to the bridle straps. One with original mount, one torn. Almost surely from the booty gathered after the rout of Grand Vizier Merzifonlu Kara Mustafa Pasha’s forces on September 12, 1683, at the siege of Vienna.  See Der Karlsruher Turkenbeute (The Karlsruhe Turkish booty) Hirmer #74 & #76 for other examples. It’s easy to imagine a Polish hussar, after the battle, looking for valuables, finding a gilt mounted bridle and tearing the medallion from the leathers. After the battle, 20,000 wagon loads of booty were gathered from which the collection at the Karlsruhe Museum was formed. Thus, it is almost certain that any surviving 17th-century Turkish weapons such as this were part of that massive booty.