Saddle ca. 1570-80 Italian, Milan This is an excellent example of a complete European war saddle of good quality from the mid- to late sixteenth century. The steels, padded saddle cover, and saddletree are original and all appear to belong together.The saddletree is made up of both wooden and iron components. Its basic structure consists of a pommel and cantle of shaped wood, each of which is joined to a wooden base in the form of a semicircular arch, the arch being hidden under the saddle cover. The upper side of each arch is faced with leather, and the underside with canvas. The front and rear arches are connected by two horizontal sidebards, each made of a flat band of iron, the ends of which spread into a trefoil shape where they are nailed to the underside of the arches. The sidebards are slightly bowed inward to correspond to the curvature of a horse's back. Similar iron sidebars occur on the saddle from the armor garniture probably made for Henry VIII in 1527 (the so-called Geno