Statuette of a Horse

Arts of Greece, Rome, and Byzantium

750-730 BCE

Greek

This small statuette was created in Greece around the time of the first Olympic games (776 BCE). It was made as a gift for a god and was probably deposited at a religious site. Devotional gifts took many forms, but statuettes of horses were especially popular because the creatures were symbols of affluence. Following the stylistic preference of the time, the sculptor used a few simple shapes to capture the animal’s essence.

Status: Currently Off View
Department: Arts of Greece, Rome, and Byzantium

Culture: Ancient Greek
Title: Statuette of a Horse
Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.: 750 BCE–730 BCE
Medium: Bronze
Dimensions: 9.2 × 8.2 × 2.6 cm (3 5/8 × 3 1/4 × 1 in.)
Credit Line: Katherine K. Adler, Costa A. Pandaleon Greek Memorial, and Mr. and Mrs. Walter Alexander Classical Endowment, James H. Allan and Christopher D. Allan funds
Reference Number: 2016.193
IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.: https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/237363/manifest.json

Sotheby’s, New York, Antiquities, sale cat. (Sotheby’s, New York, June 5, 1999), lot 107.
Sotheby’s, New York, Antiquities, sale cat. (Sotheby’s, New York, December 9, 2003), lot 33.
Claire Brown (ed.), Rupert Wace Ancient Art, XXX (London, 2017), cat. no. 27.

The European Fine Art Fair, Maastricht Exhibition & Congress Centre Maastricht, The Netherlands, March 11-20, 2016.
Art Institute of Chicago, Of Gods and Glamour: The Mary and Michael Jaharis Galleries of Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Art, Gallery 151, October 10, 2016 - present.

Collection of Mrs. John Hay Whitney (died 1998), New York, from Mathias Komor, 1961 [John Hay Whitney and Betsey Cushing Whitney Family Papers (MS1938), Manuscripts and Archives, Yale University Library, ledger entry]; sold at Sotheby’s, New York, June 5, 1999, to an unnamed owner in the United States; sold at Sotheby’s, New York, December 9, 2003, to an unnamed owner in New Jersey; Rupert Wace Ancient Art, Ltd., London; purchased by the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, in 2016.

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

Suggested Terms

Currently Off View

Date:

Artist:

About this artwork

Status

Department

Culture

Title

Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

Medium

Dimensions

Credit Line

Reference Number

IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.

Extended information about this artwork

Publication History

Exhibition History

Provenance

Share

Explore Further

Sign up for our enewsletter to receive updates.

Gallery actions

Image actions

Share

IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.