The International Exhibition: Embroidered Sidesaddle

The International Exhibition: embroidered sidesaddle, by A. Davis, 1862. Saddle '...from a design supplied by Philip H. De la Motte..., enriched with scroll ornaments of about the fourteenth century, and worked in various coloured silks, which we believe, were obtained expressly from Paris..The lines of scrollwork are of yellow silk, leading the eye up to flowers of pink and white, or blue, which, whilst they are quiet and keep their proper place, have been sufficient colour to relieve the monotony. The large central pendent flower is enriched with various colours upon a maroon ground, and forms the principal point of the ornamentation. The flap of the safe on either side is covered in a manner agreeing with the general scheme, and, besides the scrolls, contains conventional flower bosses and a shield, which might be made to bear either heraldic devices or ornament. The border round the sides consists of a chain of quatrefoils, with pink flowers upon a dark green ground, and the whole is admirably set off by a braiding worked in chainstitch. The pommels are likewise done in a style corresponding with the other parts, and the seat is quilted with scrolls well adapted to the form they fill, and more elaborate than those usually employed'. From "Illustrated London News", 1862. Creator: Unknown. (Photo by The Print Collector/Heritage Images via Getty Images)