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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1972.52
Title
Applique of a Horse and Rider
Classification
Sculpture
Work Type
sculpture
Date
3rd-1st century BCE
Places
Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World, Europe
Period
Hellenistic period
Culture
Greek
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/304191

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Bronze, silver inlay
Technique
Cast, lost-wax process
Dimensions
9.84 x 7.62 cm (3 7/8 x 3 in.)
Technical Details

Chemical Composition: XRF data from Tracer
Alloy: Bronze
Alloying Elements: copper, tin
Other Elements: lead, iron, nickel, silver, gold
Comment: The band on the head is inlaid silver.
K. Eremin, January 2014

Technical Observations: The object was created by lost-wax casting, with the larger features pushed in from the reverse of the cast sheet. The thick incised lines for the horse’s mane and bridle, as well as the figure’s facial features, hair, and cloak, were created on the wax model. The thin incisions on the animal pelt were probably also made in the model, as were the circular holes, since some of the circles overlap with raised edges. The figure’s headband is inlaid with silver, and the deep grooves in the horse’s head were probably prepared to receive an inlay.


Tracy Richardson (submitted 1999)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
L. Curtius collection. Charles L. Morley, sold; to Frederick M. Watkins, New Haven, CT, bequest; to the Fogg Museum, Harvard University, 1972.

In addition, a handwritten note in the 1973 catalogue written by David Mitten quotes a March 5, 1973 letter from Dietrich von Bothmer, presumably referring to documents which he had seen: "'Prof. Curtius' in Morley's bill of sale is, of course, Ludwig Curtius."
[Andreya Mihaloew 4/28/2008]

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of Frederick M. Watkins
Accession Year
1972
Object Number
1972.52
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
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Descriptions

Published Catalogue Text: Ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern Bronzes at the Harvard Art Museums
This skillful relief represents a young man riding a horse. The man, rendered in three-quarter view, wears only a silver-inlaid diadem decorated with a centrally placed round ornament, a short dappled cape that billows behind him, and ankle-high laced boots. He holds a bundle of leafy branches in his right hand. The tightly reined horse appears to be in motion, with its right foreleg raised. The horse’s bridle and the man’s nipples were originally also inlaid. The rider sits on an animal skin, perhaps of a panther, that has numerous fine incisions to indicate fur.

Although this relief had previously been dated to the Roman Imperial period, there is nothing that clearly indicates its date is so late (1). The use of a panther pelt as a saddle blanket is thought to have come into vogue in Greek art only after Alexander’s conquests in the East (2). The high quality of this relief, its strong classicizing elements, and the heroic nudity of the figure on horseback are appropriate to a date in the Hellenistic era, when there was already a long tradition of images of heroes with horses. The diadem, which is a traditional symbol of kingship, may indicate that a Hellenistic king is represented here in a posthumous heroic portrait. Two circular holes, one at the top of the cape and the other between his left shoulder and the horse’s mane, would have served to attach the applique to another object, such as a box or piece of furniture.

NOTES:

1. For a Roman date and interpretation of this piece, see D. G. Mitten, The Frederick M. Watkins Collection, exh. cat., Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University Art Museums (Cambridge, MA, 1973) 84-85.

2. See W. H. Schuchhardt, “Relief mit Pferd und Negerknaben im Nationalmuseum in Athen, N. M. 4464,” Antike Plastik 17 (1978): 75-99.


Seán Hemingway

Publication History

  • The Frederick M. Watkins Collection, exh. cat., Fogg Art Museum (Cambridge, MA, 1973), p. 84-85, no. 36.
  • Ancient Greece: Life and Art, The Newark Museum (Newark, NJ, 1980), no. 36 (as 1972.54).

Exhibition History

  • The Frederick M. Watkins Collection, Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge, 01/31/1973 - 03/14/1973
  • Ancient Greece: Life and Art, The Newark Museum, 02/02/1980 - 03/16/1980

Subjects and Contexts

  • Ancient Bronzes

Related Works

Verification Level

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu