Curb Bit (c. 1580–1600): Art, History and Details

Curb Bit (c. 1580–1600) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

A well-constructed curb bit was an essential piece of equipment for keeping a powerful battle stallion under control. Like other horse trappings, bits were often elegantly fashioned and ornamented. This example has applied and gilded bosses.

Object facts

• Title: Curb Bit
• Date: c. 1580–1600
• Culture: Italy, late 16th Century
• Type: Arms and Armor
• Technique: iron with gilt bronze bosses
• Dimensions: Overall: 25.4 x 15.6 cm (10 x 6 1/8 in.)
• Collection: MED - Arms & Armor
• Department: Medieval Art
• Accession number: 1916.1581

A detail from the museum

A curb bit uses lever action, meaning that it multiplies the pressure applied by the rider.

Collection credit

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John L. Severance

Further reading listed by the museum

• Gilchrist, Helen Ives. A Catalogue of the Collection of Arms & Armor Presented to the Cleveland Museum of Art by Mr. and Mrs. John Long Severance; 1916-1923. Cleveland: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1924.
• Fliegel, Stephen N. Arms and Armor: The Cleveland Museum of Art. [Cleveland, Ohio]: The Museum, 1998.
• Fliegel, Stephen N. Arms & Armor: The Cleveland Museum of Art. [Cleveland, Ohio]: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2007.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.