Fabulous & rare nearly pristine antique Continental European genuine horsehair 36" coachman's carriage fly swatter, switch or "fly whisk" with long elegant silver plated handle & wonderful condition! Most commonly you would see these with a turned wood, horn or bone handle, this piece with what appears to be silver plated with a thick tuft of horsehair attached directly to the end. Used to brush flies away from horses (or sometimes from people), popular in the Victorian era and most often carried in carriages. Many dealers mistakenly call these "horse whips" but they were not intended for striking a horse. One of two equestrian related items that we're adding this week, perfect as decorative accents for the horse enthusiasts! No hallmarks on either that I can see so they could be sterling silver but most likely Victorian era silver plate.
Very good to excellent condition. As you can see in the images, some of the horsehair has broken off near the handle with shorter hairs here and there. The handle shows no sign of plate loss, it it is indeed silver plate. See images for all measurements.
