Anna Marston
Associate Specialist
Lot 50
A Greek bronze horse
6 July 2023, 11:00 BST
London, New Bond StreetSold for £12,800 inc. premium
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Siobhan Quin
Senior Specialist
Francesca Hickin
Head of Department
A Greek bronze horse
Geometric Period, circa mid 8th Century B.C.
7.5cm high
Geometric Period, circa mid 8th Century B.C.
7.5cm high
Footnotes
Provenance:
Dunkels-Buhler collection, UK, acquired early 20th Century; and thence by descent to the present owner in 1978.
Horses standing on openwork integral plinths have been discovered throughout Greece, all dating to the Geometric period, though the addition of the incised circle and dot decoration is found more rarely. For similar circle details, see M. Comstock & C. Vermeule, Greek, Etruscan and Roman Bronzes in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Boston, 1971, p. 8, no. 6, where it is noted that this decoration is common to horses found at Olympia. These small sculptures are thought to have been votive offerings, though the choice of this animal also reflected the social rank and power of the dedicant, as the horse was the preeminent symbol of the aristocracy.