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Alternative Title
Brass of Cambuscan, the King of Sarra, in Tartary
Description
A medium-sized brass horse figurine with a slightly abstract and elegant design. The horse stands rigidly on four long, thin legs. The front knees are prominent; the mane is sawtoothed. The figure is attached to a brass base.
12. Brass Horse of Cambuscan, the King of Sarra, in Tartary. Between sunrise and sunset it could convey its rider through the air to any desired place upon earth. It figures in Chaucer’s Canterbury Pilgrims (in the unfinished Squire’s Tale), as well as in the fourth book of Spencer’s [sic] Faëry Queen. There is a yet earlier account of a similarly gifted horse (but made of wood) in “The Ebony Horse,” one of the stories included in the Arabian Nights, in which tale the magic steed is ridden by Prince Kamar-al-Akmar of Persia. A gift from Thomas Learmont of Ercildoune, Near the Brook of Goblins.
Exhibit label:
BRASS HORSE OF CAMBUSCAN, THE KING OF SARRA, IN TARTARY.
A gift from Thomas Learmont of Ercildoune.
Dimensions (Length x Width x Height in cm)
5.5 x 1 x 7
Personal Name Subject
Cabell, James Branch, 1879-1958; Thomas, the Rhymer, 1220?-1297?; Chaucer, Geoffrey, -1400; Spenser, Edmund, 1552?-1599
Topical Subject
Horses; Figurines; Chaucer, Geoffrey, -1400. Squire's tale
City/Location
Richmond (Va.)
Genre
figures (representations)
Type
Physical Object
Digital Format
image/jpg
Language
eng
Rights Statement URL
Rights
This material is protected by copyright, and copyright is held by VCU. You are permitted to use this material in any way that is permitted by copyright. In addition, this material is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International license (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0). Acknowledgment of Virginia Commonwealth University Libraries as a source is required.
Collection
James Branch Cabell Horse Figurine Collection
Source
Horse 12, Brass Horse of Cambuscan, the King of Sarra, in Tartary, James Branch Cabell Horse Figurine collection, M 377, Box 3, Special Collections and Archives, James Branch Cabell Library, Virginia Commonwealth University.
File Name
m377_i012.jpg