Ambrosio Armijo's Saddle

Manufacturer / Maker unidentified

Dateca. 1865

Mediumleather, silver, horsehair, fabric

Dimensions39 x 21 1/2 x 28 in. (99.1 x 54.6 x 71.1 cm)

ClassificationsTransportation

Credit LineAlbuquerque Museum, gift of John Borradaile Colligan

Terms

Object numberPC1984.29.1

DescriptionThis saddle owned by merchant Ambrosio Armijo is noted for its large "dinner plate" horn decorated with two silver medallions; one depicting the Eagle and Snake emblem of Mexico, the other the biblical Lion of Judah. It is a remarkable example of the richly adorned saddles used by affluent Mexican gentlemen after 1850 due to its intricate design on the saddle as well as the black horsehair attached.

Ambrosio Armijo was born about 1817 to a farming community on the Los Poblanos Ranch north of Old Town. Armijo was the nephew of Mexican governor Manuel Armijo and a well known merchant, politician, and public servant. A noted trader on the Santa Fe and Chihuahua Trails, Armijo probably purchased the saddle on one of his trading ventures to Mexico.

This saddle remained in the Armijo family from the 1860s until John B. Colligan’s donation to the Albuquerque Museum in 1984. George Washington Armijo rode it in 1911, when he was selected to act the part of Diego de Vargas in the Santa Fe Fiesta.

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On view