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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1977.216.3410
Title
Galloping Horse
Classification
Sculpture
Work Type
sculpture, statuette
Date
n.d.
Places
Creation Place: Unidentified Region
Period
Modern
Culture
Unidentified culture
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/304234

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Leaded brass
Technique
Cast, lost-wax process
Dimensions
7 x 2 x 9.5 cm (2 3/4 x 13/16 x 3 3/4 in.)
Technical Details

Chemical Composition: ICP-MS/AAA data from sample, Leaded Brass:
Cu, 81.7; Sn, 1.53; Pb, 2.31; Zn, 13.58; Fe, 0.35; Ni, 0.24; Ag, 0.1; Sb, 0.19; As, less than 0.10; Bi, less than 0.025; Co, 0.012; Au, less than 0.01; Cd, less than 0.001
J. Riederer

Technical Observations: The patina is dark green with areas of bright metal visible. The green layer is superficial and may be resinous. There is no clear evidence of long-term burial, and the object is clearly not ancient. The right rear hoof is lost.

The weight of the horse gives the impression that a core is present. A raised mold line in an almost perfect plane runs along the back, stomach, and to the right side of the neck. The tail, mane, and head of the horse show signs of cold working.


Henry Lie (submitted 2001)

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Transfer from the Department of the Classics, Harvard University
Accession Year
1977
Object Number
1977.216.3410
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Descriptions

Published Catalogue Text: Ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern Bronzes at the Harvard Art Museums
This prancing or galloping horse wears a bridle and harness but not saddle. Its modeling is naturalistic, with the head, hooves, mane, and tail all rendered in great detail. The tang in the remaining rear left hoof was probably for mounting.

While this horse is unlikely to be ancient, based on stylistic and technical analysis, it is worth noting that the motif of a rearing horse was known in antiquity and similar horses have appeared in old collections (1). It also bears some similarities to the rearing sixteenth-century horse statuette created by Benvenuto Cellini for an Etruscan rider figurine, thought to be modeled on a sculpture of Demetrius Poliorcetes, and displayed together in the Museo Archeologico Nazionale, Florence (2).

NOTES:

1. See E. Walde-Psenner, 1984, “Die figürlichen Bronzen in den ‘Inscriptiones’ von Anton Roschmann (1756),” in U. Gehrig, ed., Toreutik und figürliche Bronzen römischer Zeit: Akten der 6. Tagung über antike Bronzen 13.-17. Mai 1980 in Berlin, 239-46, esp. 240, no. 3, recorded in the mid-eighteenth century as a Roman object found in Austria. The author notes that it is difficult to determine from the drawing whether the original horse was ancient; the style, pose, and hoof-tangs are very similar to the Harvard example. Compare also a group with a rearing Bucephalus with Alexander and a companion horse statuette from Herculaneum in G. Calcani, Cavalieri di bronzo: La torma di Alessandro opera di Lisippo, Studia Archaeologica 53 (Rome, 1989) figs. 6, 56-58, and 61-62. Compare also similar motifs depicted in mosaic, stone, and fresco in ibid., figs. 7, 59, 69, and 76-93.

2. Inv. no. 91446; see Calcani 1989 (supra 1) figs. 72-73.


Lisa M. Anderson

Subjects and Contexts

  • Ancient Bronzes

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