[MANUSCRIPT - EQUINE MEDICINE & FARRIERY]. Treatise on t - Lot 191

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  3. [MANUSCRIPT - EQUINE MEDICINE & FARRIERY]. Treatise on t - Lot 191
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Lot n° 191
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[MANUSCRIPT - EQUINE MEDICINE & FARRIERY]. Treatise on t - Lot 191
[MANUSCRIPT - EQUINE MEDICINE & FARRIERY]. Treatise on the Study of Horses. A handwritten treatise on equine medicine and farriery from the time of Louis XIV or the Regency, preserved in its remarkable original binding adorned with a pattern of royal crowns. No place, no date [France, circa 1700, late reign of Louis XIV]. 1 volume, in-4 (232 x 188 mm), soft vellum bound with a fabric cord, covers entirely decorated with a scattering of gilded royal crowns arranged in a staggered pattern at the center of a double border of gilded fillets and vertically within and outside the border; endpapers of marbled paper. Calligraphic title page and 132 handwritten pages in black ink. Velin is soiled, gilding is slightly faded, small hole on the upper cover, and pinholes on the lower cover. A precious treatise on equine medicine and farriery, handwritten during the reign of Louis XIV or the Regency period, preserved in its remarkable original binding featuring a scattered pattern of closed royal crowns. Carefully calligraphied across 132 pages, this anonymous manuscript offers a comprehensive synthesis of equine medical knowledge from the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries. The author applies classical humoral medicine to classify horses according to their “temperament” (melancholic, choleric, phlegmatic, sanguine) and the color of their coat, thereby determining their aptitudes and weaknesses. It centers on an anatomical examination of the animal’s ideal proportions, a description of major ailments (lamehood, bloating, fevers, and glanders, described as “a highly contagious and virtually incurable disease”), and a comprehensive compendium detailing bloodletting, purges, and specific pill formulas (the “strong remedy” from *Médecine Majeure* for sick horses and the “tonic” from *Médecine Corporelle* for tired animals). The unusual decoration—a scattering of golden crowns on supple vellum—suggests that this manuscript was commissioned for the library of a high-ranking cavalry officer or an important princely stable. A clearly legible copy, preserved in its original condition.
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