Have you ever walked into an old pub, a tack room or a grandparent's den and seen a leather strap of shiny brass medallions hanging by the fireplace?
Those are horse brasses, and every one of them was made to hang on a horse. Today they hang on walls, beams and mantels instead, and they're one of the easiest antiques to fall for and one of the trickiest to date. Here's where they came from, how they were made and what to look for when you find one.
We have three solid brass horse brasses in the shop right now, from $18 each.
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What horse brasses are
A horse brass is a decorative brass ornament made for a horse's harness. The classic shape is a flat medallion about 3 by 3½ inches with a loop at the top, made to slide onto a leather strap. Most hung from the martingale, the strap that runs down the horse's chest between its front legs. A working dray or cart horse dressed for show could wear ten to twelve of them, with one or two larger brasses at the forehead and smaller ones down the martingale. Some had bells added, too.
Designs run from simple rings, crescents, stars and sunbursts to hearts, horses, flowers, royal commemoratives and company names. Many are pierced or cut out so light shows through.
When and where they were made
Decorated harness goes back to ancient times, but the horse brasses most of us know are English and Victorian. They became popular in the mid-19th century, after the Great Exhibition of 1851, during a wider boom in decorative arts. By the late 1800s, shire and draft horses were decked out in brasses for working-horse parades, where prizes were given for the best-turned-out horses. Carters valued their brasses and kept them polished.
Most were made in the West Midlands of England, in and around Walsall and Willenhall. Collecting them began around 1880 and grew popular from about 1890. As working horses gave way to motor trucks and tractors, many brasses ended up as pub decorations. They never stopped being made, though. Brasses are still produced today, mainly for the souvenir trade and for people who show heavy horses.
A lot of romantic stories grew up around horse brasses, about lucky charms and medieval origins. Research by the National Horse Brass Society hasn't found a link between those stories and the 19th-century harness brasses collectors find today, so take them with a grain of salt.
Cast vs. stamped
- Cast: the earliest brasses were cast in sand molds. They're heavier in the hand, and the back often shows small stubs called "gets," left from the casting process. Owners sometimes filed the gets down.
- Stamped: from around 1880, brasses were also stamped from rolled sheet brass about 1/16 inch thick. They were lighter and cheaper than cast ones, and production peaked shortly before World War I.
- Later stamped brasses: those made after the 1920s tend to be stamped from thinner sheet and are generally of lower quality.
How to identify an older brass
- Weight and thickness: note whether the piece feels solid and heavy (cast) or light and thin (stamped). Very thin, flimsy brass points to a later piece.
- The back: look for gets on cast brasses. Keep in mind that gets alone don't prove age, because the impression of studs can also be found on later reproduction brasses.
- Wear: a brass that spent years on a working harness usually shows softened edges and rubbing where it met the leather strap. Crisp, sharp edges all over suggest little use.
- Commemoratives: brasses made for a coronation or jubilee can usually be dated by the event they mark.
- Metal: make sure it's brass at all. Our guide to solid brass vs. brass-plated walks through simple ways to tell.
See it in person: horse brasses in the shop
Three designs that look wonderful lined up together. Each one is a single piece, so when it's gone, it's gone.
Look-alikes and reproductions
Because horse brasses have been made continuously for well over a century, there are a great many souvenir and decorative brasses out there, and plenty were never on a horse. That doesn't make them less charming on a wall, but it's worth looking closely at weight, wear and the back before paying an antique price. Honest dating of a single brass is often a range rather than a year, and even experienced collectors lean on the National Horse Brass Society's reference material for the hard cases.
Hanging and displaying horse brasses
- On a strap: the traditional way. Thread several brasses onto a length of black or brown leather and hang it beside a fireplace, on a beam or down a door frame.
- On their own: brasses with a hanging loop can hang from a small nail or hook on the wall.
- In a group: a row of different designs, rings, sunbursts and scallops side by side, makes a bigger statement than one alone.
- On a shelf: a small easel or plate stand works for a brass that doesn't need to go on the wall.
Caring for horse brasses
Many collectors love the warm, darkened patina of an old brass and leave it alone. If you'd rather it shine, use a gentle brass polish sparingly and wipe away all residue, since heavy polishing wears down fine detail over time. Dust with a soft dry cloth and keep brasses dry. For more, see our guide to cleaning and caring for vintage finds.
Horse brasses in the shop
Our scalloped barrel brass has a scalloped circular frame around a barrel-style center and a warm aged patina, about 3" x 2.75".
The sunburst cut-out brass is the largest of the three at 4" x 3.25", with an open-work sunburst wheel and a scalloped edge that catches the light.
The concentric ring brass has rings around a raised center, a deep natural patina and a built-in loop for hanging, about 3.5" x 3".
All three are solid brass, and they look wonderful lined up together. Every piece is the only one we have.
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Brass & metal →Home & curiosities →Vintage home decor →
Keep reading: Solid Brass or Brass-Plated? · Vintage vs. Antique vs. Retro · Georgian vs. Victorian
Did someone in your family hang horse brasses by the fireplace or in the barn? We'd love to hear the story in the comments.