Hidán Csaba – Szőllősy Gábor: Fegyver- és lószerszámgyűjtemény a tápiószelei Blaskovich Múzeumban (PMMI kiadványai - Kiállítási katalógusok 24. Pest Megyei Múzeumok Igazgatósága, Szentendre, 2008)
Gábor Szőllősy: The harnesses of the Blaskovich Museum in Tápiószele (Ford.: Juhászné Szepesi Beatrix)
Gábor Szőllősy: The harnesses of the Blaskovich Museum in Tápiószele Apart from noble horsebreeding, driving horse-drawn carriages was another favourite pastime of the male members of the Blaskovich family around the middle of the 19 th century. That is why we can find a small, but valuable collection of harnesses among the Blaskovich collection. The plaited harness, over- decorated with an archiépiscopal coat-of-arms, is quite unique. The piece was used for saddle-horses in the firts half of the 19"' century. The grandfather, Gyula Blaskovich (1806-1850), who was then the deputy-lieutenant of Heves caunty, bought in the spring of 1848 from the estate of the decaesed Pyrker, archbishop of Eger. The overly decorated harness for saddle- horses is in itself a unique piece, made even more valuable by the fact that it is almost complete. An interesting piece of the collection is a saddle dating from the early 1800's, a so- called bony saddle which was once finely crafted, glued, with a receding pommel and wooden- leather. This riding saddle was transformed into one that could be used with carriages. Another special piece is a harness made of yellow leather, of an Eastern nature, made for a saddle-horse, which is decorated with hemispherical, small silver studs. The harness was made in the 18 th century in the Caucasian region or in Central Asia. The most beautiful pieces of the family collection were shown in the Budapest in 1896 at the historical exposition organised for the Millennium celebration of Humgary. The harnesses were represented by a collection of noble harnesses from the 18 th century as well as a saddle- cloth finely embroidered with golden thread. The latter, a red leather harness made int he 1700's for saddle-horses and decorated with imitations of precious stones, was perhaps used by the family, for it was renewed for the occasion of Kaiser Franz Joseph's coronation (1867) as king of Hungary. A Tiszafüred-type of saddle and a red felt blanket, embroidered with gold thread, as well as a saddle -cloth, go with it. The bridle, breast-strap and crupper for saddle-horses, made from red (bagaria) Russia leather in the 18 th century and decorated with golden and silver studs were also among the exhibits of the national Millennium Exhibition held in 1896. A more modest harness for saddle-horses, also dating from the 18 th century, is made of brown russian leather, with lentil-shaped copper studs. Harnesses for horse-drawn vehicles are represented by an elegant, but they are incomplete. English style collar-harness for a four-in-hand. The bridles, traces and reins are missing. The harness was made of black leather. On the studding, can be seen the coat-of-arms of the Blaskovich family of Ebeck: the triple mound, above it a golden trumpet and a three-pointed rose. On the top of the escutcheon is the nobel five-pointed crown. The harnesses of the Museum of Tápiószele is worth seeing, for despite the fact that there are not so many pieces, there are some really unusual and interesting ones to be found.
