THE STALLION FROM THE LAND OF MANU

Born to Reign, written by Judith Forbis, came at a time in my life when I was more open to the writings of Carl Raswan. Actually, it was something that Judith Forbis wrote about Ansata Delilah in the book that caught my attention and then held it, long enough for me to connect a dotted line between what she wrote in the book and 2 Carl Raswan articles published by Western Horseman magazine. I was fascinated with the subject, however, life and all that comes with it, soon pushes such things out of my "headspace" and soon, I forget. That is, until this week and  an email I received from Anthony Pontrello. Do you know Anthony? He is an accomplished artist, having studied in Boston and apprenticing in Italy. Arabian horses are featured in his work, many of which are in private collections, all over the world. Me, I know Anthony as the owner of the late stallion, *Nigmh, an Ansata Halim Shah son, out of the Muqatamm daughter, Nasbah. His new work is titled " The Stallion from the Land of Manu". In the Egyptian Book of the Dead, Anthony explains, the sun God, Ra, retires every evening in the west or "Manu".

There is something really special about the stallion's expression, captured on canvas for all time. The horse is alert, ears pricked forward, tuned into every sound, while the direction of his focus remains straight ahead, eyeball-to-eyeball on us. He's not sure of us, yet he is overwhelmed by a child-like curiosity to find out who we are, despite the vulnerability which he feels in doing so. 

And that's where Judith Forbis' Born to Reign book, fits in  with the artwork because I found the same expression in many of the photos of the Bukra horses.  At the time, I had wondered about the unique expression I found in horse-after-horse and whether this look could be unique to the Muluq or the timing and skill of an expert equine photographer. I so wanted to believe in the romance of the Muluq, as explained by Raswan. I was thrilled to find mention of "angel horses" written by other people, within other books, not necessarily about horses. It was not just a Raswan thing. And now, strangely enough, along comes a painting inspired by Egyptian mythology. It's like Born to Reign, in this instance, unbeknownst to Judith Forbis, functions as a transcript, to bring closure to what we may not understand through the silence of a painting. 

Anthony Pontrello is currently inviting inquiries from anyone interested in The Stallion from the Land of Manu. You may want to reach out to him, before someone else does and purchases the painting.