WASHINGTON, DC.- The artistic mastery of communities across Asia, as expressed in the way they costumed their horses, is on parade in The George Washington University Museum and The Textile Museum's exhibition Adorning the Horse: Equestrian Textiles for Power and Prestige in Washington, DC, through June 20. A selection of sixty spectacular saddle covers, horse blankets, and other trappings made over the last 1,300 years showcase horses as precious possessions that communicated both the wealth of their riders and the artistic taste of their respective cultures.


Horse cover, Central Asia or China, 5th-7th centuries. The Textile Museum Collection 2021.17.100. Brick Freedman Collection.

The oldest textile in the exhibition is a horse cover made in Central Asia or Western China between the fifth and seventh centuries, a time of dynamic international exchange. Made of silk and originally a stunning bright red or purple color, the cover is embroidered with a pair of confronted horses flanking a flowering tree, as well as twenty-five beaded roundels containing a boar's head, a human-headed bird, a peacock and other motifs. These Indo-Iranian motifs were widespread in many types of textiles produced between Eastern Iran and Western China up to the eighth century.


Forehead ornament (takyab), Tibetan Plateau, early 20th century. The Textile Museum Collection 2021.17.20. Brick Freedman Collection.

This early 20th-century ornament, or takyab, is one of the distinctive talismanic forehead covers from Tibet in the exhibition. Tibetan rulers, nomads, and farmers valued horses for their speed, strength and sure-footedness in the often rocky and mountainous local terrain. Placed on the horse's forehead, the takyab provided perceived spiritual protection through auspicious designs thought to deflect evil forces and attract the good. While conforming to the shape of a horse's muzzle, the takyab’s distinctive shape may derive from the head of a horned, mythical protective creature.


Saddle cover, Iran, 1850-1900. The Textile Museum Collection 2021.17.75. Brick Freedman Collection.

This unusual bright red saddle cover from 19th-century Iran is inscribed with an anonymous poem. Executed in fine silk thread, the words praise a horse's majesty and its connection to the natural world:

Like scintillating sparks, your hooves emanate fire as you move through the rocks. Your tail’s force and steel hooves can break even a mountain.
Nobody could even dream of [a steed] with such virtues.
The stars are all motionless by your speed; no one will ever rival your speed.

Co-curators Sumru Belger Krody and Lee Talbot organized the exhibition, which includes equestrian textiles from Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, China, Iran, Japan, Syria, Tibet, Türkiye, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, as well as two robes worn by riders.

To accompany the exhibition, the museum is presenting an International Film Series featuring The Horses of Fukushima on March 28, as part of the National Cherry Blossom Festival; Home on the Steppe on April 18, followed by a panel discussion; and Atlan on May 9. A livestreamed program on May 30, Pageantry, Protection and Tradition in Equestrian Textiles, will feature insights from the curators and collector Judy Brick Freedman, whose 2021 donation of 100 equestrian textiles to The Textile Museum Collection inspired this landmark exhibition. Registration is required. Consult the museum's website for updates.

Support for the exhibition, programming and its accompanying publication is provided by Allen R. and Judy Brick Freedman and the Brick Freedman Endowment for Equestrian Textiles, which provides ongoing support for equestrian textiles as a unique area of study.


Cover of exhibition publication.

Published on the occasion of the exhibition by Hali Publications, Adorning the Horse, Equestrian Textiles for Power and Prestige, 6th-20th Centuries features highlights from The Textile Museum Collection, and primarily its Brick Freedman Collection. The limited-edition book features dazzling photography, an introduction by collector and donor Judy Brick Freedman, and new essays by curators Sumru Belger Krody and Lee Talbot, as well as leading scholars David W. Anthony, Dorcas R. Brown, Thomas Cole, Mariachiara Gasparini and Linda Komaroff. The book is available for purchase in hardback ($55) from the museum’s Artisans Gallery.

The George Washington University Museum and The Textile Museum is located on GW’s Foggy Bottom campus at 701 21st St. NW, in Washington, D.C., just blocks from the Smithsonian Renwick Gallery, White House, Lisner Auditorium and the National Mall. Galleries are open to the public Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., closed on university holidays. Admission to the museum is free. For information on the museum's visiting hours, exhibitions and educational programs, please check the museum website.