Social and Political Life in the Vijayanagara Empire (A.D. 1346 – A.D. 1646) v1.c8.s2.33

v1.c8.s2.33

The fine breed of the days of Barbosa seems to have degenerated into the puny ones of the Ikkēri times which formed an epilogue to Vijayanagara history. Pietro della Valle in A.D. 1623 thus describes them: "All the rest of us rode upon Horses of the place, which are of very small size, and were sent to us for that purpose accoutr'd after their manner, with saddles pretty high to look upon, but to me very inconvenient; for they have bows and cruppers very high, and are all of hard wood, without any stuffing but with sharp wreath'd edges, cover'd with black or red Cloth lay'd with bands of Gold, or yellow, or other colour; in the cruppers are many carv'd ornaments of this figure [Figure: ], besides certain extravagant tassels hanging down to the stirrups; and, were they not so hard, they would be neither unhandsome nor unsafe to ride upon".²