Saddle-cloth with the Pindela’s Coat of Arms
Author: Unknown
Origin: Unknown
Dating: 19th century
Material: Wool & Cotton
Dimensions (cm): 130 x 155
Inv. no.: PD1120
Horse covers were already used in ancient Assyria (modern northern Iraq) at around 700 AD. They were commonly decorated and were attached by a strap or a rope to protect the rider.
Later on, saddle-cloths became equestrian apparatus used by people of high social status. These could be customized – with the horse’s name, the name of its owner or other elements – as shown by this exemplar displaying the coat of arms of the Pindela (a Noble House from Vila Nova de Famalicão, nearby Guimarães).
2nd Viscount of Pindela
Vicente Pinheiro Lobo Machado de Melo e Almada – 13th Representative of the Morgadio and 2nd Viscount of Pindela.
He was born in Guimarães, at the Casa do Proposto, on April 23, 1852; and died at his home in Pindela on April 14, 1922. He was the son of João Machado Pinheiro Correia de Melo, and his second wife D. Eulália Estelita de Freitas Rangel de Quadros.
He inherited the title and the house of Pindela through a donation made by his father, 1st Viscount of Pindela «donation of the bare ownership of the house in 1885» (Machado, 1999:34), located in the Parish of S. Tiago da Cruz, in the Municipality of Vila Nova de Famalicão.
He graduated in Law from the University of Coimbra in 1879. In November of the same year, he was appointed governor of the Province of São Tomé and Príncipe, where he remained until December 1881. It marked the beginning of his long and diverse public and diplomatic career.
He made his final return to Pindela, where he succumbed to a stroke. He is laid to rest in S. Tiago da Cruz.
At the House of Pindela, he received great cultural, political and diplomatic personalities of his time, namely some of the illustrious members of the group «Vencidos da Vida» (Life’s Defeated), such as Eça de Queirós, Ramalho Ortigão and the Count of Ficalho. His friend, the poet and diplomat António Feijó, was a frequent visitor in Pindela.
He was honored with numerous commendations, including the 1898 “Par do Reino” (Peer of the Realm), the Commendations of “Águia Vermelha” – from William II of Germany, during a State visit; Gthe Grand Cross of the Order of Christ from King Carlos in May 12, 1902; etc.
Beyond being a renowned genealogist and writer, the 2nd Viscount of Pindela mhad a great interest in collectionism – especially engravings and weapons. It was from this taste and interest that he gathered an important collection of weapons. These included cold weapons and firearms dating from the 15th to the 19th centuries, both of Portuguese and foreign provenance.
