Type C Stirrups

Metal stirrups with T-handles.
With T shaped short straight shank, the pedal is wider than the stirrup body thickness. The T-shaped short straight shank of this metal stirrup may be a variant of the straight shank traversing stirrup, which cannot be made due to technical or other reasons, and is replaced by the process of adding a bar to the straight shank.
There are only two specimens of type C stirrups, both of which are made of iron. One was found in Kuderg, Altai Territory, Russia, and the other in Kermuqi, Xinjiang, China. The Kuderg tombs date from the 6th to 7th centuries. The stirrup in Kermuqi was originally thought to be a relic from the Warring States to the Han Dynasty (Xinjiang Academy of Social Sciences Archaeology, 1983: Figure 166). In terms of shape, the pedal of this stirrup is wider than the thickness of the stirrup body, except that the stirrup handle is slightly different, and the stirrup of Zheng Rentai tomb and Dugu Sizhen tomb is very close to the age should be in the 6-7th century. The recently published "Grand View of Ancient Monuments in Xinjiang" has correctly attributed it to the Tang Dynasty (Xinjiang Fine Arts and Photography Press, 1999:340).