TEXTILE HORSECLOTH AS AN ATTRIBUTES OF ROYAL POWER

Abstract

The article discusses the importance of the textile equipment as oneof the components in the system of organization of power in Russia. Items selected for examination are related to the participation of the horse, as one of the most mythologized of animals in Russian culture, in the sacred environment. In this context, we considered textile horse trappings in general, with an accent on the most important items of the tsar's ritual sphere, filled with allegorical symbolism. These are authentic objects of applied art from the collections of Russian museums, which are interpreted by the inventory and historical narrative. Special attention is given to the equipment belonging to personal horses of Russian monarchs from Ivan the Terrible to Paul I. We investigate in detail all textile components of the ceremonial furnishings of the royal horse. We partially studied heraldic and funeral horsecloth. Summing up the results, textile horsecloth, with all its diversity in different historical periods, serves the formation of the image of a powerful monarch in the first place.