Pair of Mapuche Carved Wooden, Iron & Leather Stirrups

This fine pair of large, carved wooden stirrups is from late 18th or early 19th century Chile, from the Mapuche People.

Each is carved in high relief with geometric and other motifs. The carvings on their fronts are the best examples of such carving that we have seen. Apparently, the carved geometric designs refer to Mapuche symbolism and cosmogony.

Both are also fitted with iron mounts and heavy, thick leather straps. The straps have been bound over the iron loop to affix them to the stirrups with fine plait-work, this itself having the most splendid patina.

The reverse of each has a cavity into which the front of the foot would sit.

A related pair attributed, probably incorrectly to Mexico, is illustrated in Stone (1961, p. 586). Another is in New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The Mapuches are the indigenous inhabitants of south-central Chile and southwestern Argentina. They were fierce warriors – their lands were conquered only in 1883. They adopted the horse for war very shortly after their first encounter with the Spanish in 1551, and thereafter the horse was central to Mapuche life.

Overall, this pair of stirrups has excellent sculptural quality. Both, including all their elements, have an excellent, golden patina.