A Troika is a grouping of three powers, working together to achieve a mission. Its original meaning was a trio of horses—harnessed together, three abreast—to pull a Russian sled or carriage. Since then, the term has evolved to include the collaboration of three forces allied towards a common goal, usually in the political, military or business worlds. In recent times, we might think of the political-military troika of Russia, Iran and North Korea. Or, in Europe, the financial troika of the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund. In America, billionaire media owners pull in the same direction to achieve political and/or financial benefits: Musk, Bezos, Murdoch (though they probably would deny collaborating).
But let's get-back to the horses!
A troika consists of horses moving at different "gates." The center horse, usually the biggest and strongest, remains at a fast trot. This assists the outer horses, who are cantering (galloping), which, thus, expend less energy than they otherwise would. The left horse canters on the left lead (leading leg) and the right horse canters with the right lead—which keeps their legs out of each others' way and naturally encourages the outer horses to turn their heads outwards, away from the central horse.
This arrangement of horses allowed the sleighs to travel at very fast speeds—over 30 miles per hour (which was very fast in the 17th Century). Wealthy people kept troikas for their personal travel and troikas were used for mail delivery in those early days (with fresh teams of horses being exchanged at designated posts along the way). Toikas were also used (at slower speeds) for solemn occasions: funeral or religious processions.
The troika is an icon of Russian culture. Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953) wrote an orchestra with a "troika" movement which was expanded and adapted for the 1934 Soviet film Lieutenant Kije. You can listen to a snippet of the tune by CLICKING HERE. (After a 25 second intro, the tune really picks-up). The jingly bells and jolly tune has made this piece very popular at Christmastime.
The bookends, shown above, portray a trio of wild horses. They are nicely modeled and crisply cast by Judd in the Thirties. Their original copper patina is now well and nicely aged. Click on the photo above to learn more about these handsome horses.
Though our Greenwich Village store is now permanently closed, LEO Design is still alive and well! Please visit our on-line store where we continue to sell Handsome Gifts (www.LEOdesignNYC.com).
We also can be found in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, at The Antique Center of Strabane (www.antiquecenterofstrabane.com).
Or call to arrange to visit our Pittsburgh showroom (by private appointment only). 917-446-4248