GENERAL DESCRIPTION
Common in ancient civilizations, offering figures such as this represented prayers for health, good fortune, or thanksgiving, providing a tangible form that worshipers could leave for the god or goddess he venerated. Shrines and temples were regularly given such offerings, which might be displayed for a time and then buried. Individuals might also have such figures in their home or family shrines, although some were left in tombs.
Horses remained an important status symbol throughout Greek history, highly prized animals in Greek culture considered symbols of wealth and rank. Unlike the glaze of a similar Boeotian horse figurine (1974.90.FA) in the DMA collection, this horse and rider are decorated with matte paint; the simple reddish bands over a white ground give both man and mount a zebralike appearance. The rider lacks features and clutches the neck of the creature with both arms. His legs are fused with the body of the horse beyond distinction. The legs of the animal are slightly splayed, and its neck is pulled back in coordination with the backward tilt of the horseman. The horse's pose gives the impression that it has come to a sudden stop, brought about by the body commands of the rider.
The Boeotian plain was one of the few regions of Greece where the great swiftness of horses could be appreciated, and the Boeotian cavalry played a significant role in the Persian wars. Homer also recounts how Achilles sacrificed four strong-necked horses to the dead Patroclus (Iliad 23.171-72), and archaeological excavation has shown that members of Mycenaean royalty had their favorite teams of horses buried outside their tombs. Across the straits from Boeotia at nearby Eretria, horses were still sacrificed in funeral ceremonies as late as Hesiod's time, but by the sixth century BCE they were apparently too valuable to the families of the deceased to be lost in this manner. For the Boeotians, the small terracotta grave offerings would have to substitute in the next life.
Adapted from
Anne R. Bromberg, and Karl Kilinski II, Gods, Men, and Heroes: Ancient Art at the Dallas Museum of Art. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1996. 47.
NOTES
- Added Provenance and above publication as a text entry in TMS
- Horses remained an important status symbol throughout Greek history. Only the wealthy could afford to won and raise horses, to fight mounted as a knight in battle, or to race horse-drawn chariots in athletic competitions.
- Horses were highly prized animals in Greek culture and were considered symbols of wealth and rank. Many Greek aristocrats, like Hippocrates, bore the word hippos (horse) in their names, and the sons of Peisistratos- Hippias and Hipparchus- were likened to the Dioscuri, the equestrian twins Castor and Pollux, who ride to mythical adventure in Greek art and literature. The overlapping imagery of the hybrid creatures known in Greek mythology as centaurs is perhaps derived from the melding of man and beast, a process seen in the horse and rider here. Homer, in a passage perhaps reflective of his own time, speaks of expert riders who could leap from horse to horse in a linked group of four abreast while in a full gallop (Iliad 15.679ff.).
- The Boeotian plain was one of the few regions of Greece where the great swiftness of horses could be appreciated, and the Boeotian cavalry played a significant role in the Persian wars. Homer also recounts how Achilles sacrificed four strong-necked horses to the dead Patroclus (Iliad 23.171-72), and archaeological excavation has shown that members of Mycenaean royalty had their favorite teams of horses buried outside their tombs. Across the straits from Boeotia at nearby Eretria, horses were still sacrificed in funeral ceremonies as late as Hesiod's time, but by the sixth century B.C.E. they were apparently too valuable to the families of the deceased to be lost in this manner. For the Boeotians, the small terracotta grave offerings would have to substitute in the next life.
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PROVENANCE
Until 1969: Dr. Elie Borowski, Basel, Switzerland [3]
From 1969: Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, Foundation for the Arts Collection, purchased from above [1], [2]
[1] The name of the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, founded in 1933, was changed to the Dallas Museum of Art in 1983
[2] The Foundation for the Arts is a non-profit corporation created as a title-holding entity to serve the people of Dallas but to operate independently of the City. The Dallas Museum of Art (at its own cost) is responsible for the care, storage, insurance, conservation, and maintenance of the collection, and agrees to maintain the highest museum standards in the management and handling of the Foundation's collection. The title to all works of art purchased or otherwise acquired by the Foundation for the Arts is retained by the Foundation.
[3] See object card in Collections Records Object file 1974.91.FA
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General Description
Common in ancient civilizations, offering figures such as this represented prayers for health, good fortune, or thanksgiving, providing a tangible form that worshipers could leave for the god or goddess he venerated. Shrines and temples were regularly given such offerings, which might be displayed for a time and then buried. Individuals might also have such figures in their home or family shrines, although some were left in tombs.
Horses remained an important status symbol throughout Greek history, highly prized animals in Greek culture considered symbols of wealth and rank. Unlike the glaze of a similar Boeotian horse figurine (1974.90.FA) in the DMA collection, this horse and rider are decorated with matte paint; the simple reddish bands over a white ground give both man and mount a zebralike appearance. The rider lacks features and clutches the neck of the creature with both arms. His legs are fused with the body of the horse beyond distinction. The legs of the animal are slightly splayed, and its neck is pulled back in coordination with the backward tilt of the horseman. The horse's pose gives the impression that it has come to a sudden stop, brought about by the body commands of the rider.
The Boeotian plain was one of the few regions of Greece where the great swiftness of horses could be appreciated, and the Boeotian cavalry played a significant role in the Persian wars. Homer also recounts how Achilles sacrificed four strong-necked horses to the dead Patroclus (Iliad 23.171-72), and archaeological excavation has shown that members of Mycenaean royalty had their favorite teams of horses buried outside their tombs. Across the straits from Boeotia at nearby Eretria, horses were still sacrificed in funeral ceremonies as late as Hesiod's time, but by the sixth century BCE they were apparently too valuable to the families of the deceased to be lost in this manner. For the Boeotians, the small terracotta grave offerings would have to substitute in the next life.
Adapted from
Anne R. Bromberg, and Karl Kilinski II, Gods, Men, and Heroes: Ancient Art at the Dallas Museum of Art. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1996. 47.
Fun Facts
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Notes
- Added Provenance and above publication as a text entry in TMS
- Horses remained an important status symbol throughout Greek history. Only the wealthy could afford to won and raise horses, to fight mounted as a knight in battle, or to race horse-drawn chariots in athletic competitions.
- Horses were highly prized animals in Greek culture and were considered symbols of wealth and rank. Many Greek aristocrats, like Hippocrates, bore the word hippos (horse) in their names, and the sons of Peisistratos- Hippias and Hipparchus- were likened to the Dioscuri, the equestrian twins Castor and Pollux, who ride to mythical adventure in Greek art and literature. The overlapping imagery of the hybrid creatures known in Greek mythology as centaurs is perhaps derived from the melding of man and beast, a process seen in the horse and rider here. Homer, in a passage perhaps reflective of his own time, speaks of expert riders who could leap from horse to horse in a linked group of four abreast while in a full gallop (Iliad 15.679ff.).
- The Boeotian plain was one of the few regions of Greece where the great swiftness of horses could be appreciated, and the Boeotian cavalry played a significant role in the Persian wars. Homer also recounts how Achilles sacrificed four strong-necked horses to the dead Patroclus (Iliad 23.171-72), and archaeological excavation has shown that members of Mycenaean royalty had their favorite teams of horses buried outside their tombs. Across the straits from Boeotia at nearby Eretria, horses were still sacrificed in funeral ceremonies as late as Hesiod's time, but by the sixth century B.C.E. they were apparently too valuable to the families of the deceased to be lost in this manner. For the Boeotians, the small terracotta grave offerings would have to substitute in the next life.
Catalogue essays
Artist/designers
Cultures
Geography
Process/materials
Historical periods
Individuals
Subject terms
RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
Until 1969: Dr. Elie Borowski, Basel, Switzerland [3]
From 1969: Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, Foundation for the Arts Collection, purchased from above [1], [2]
[1] The name of the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, founded in 1933, was changed to the Dallas Museum of Art in 1983
[2] The Foundation for the Arts is a non-profit corporation created as a title-holding entity to serve the people of Dallas but to operate independently of the City. The Dallas Museum of Art (at its own cost) is responsible for the care, storage, insurance, conservation, and maintenance of the collection, and agrees to maintain the highest museum standards in the management and handling of the Foundation's collection. The title to all works of art purchased or otherwise acquired by the Foundation for the Arts is retained by the Foundation.
[3] See object card in Collections Records Object file 1974.91.FA
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