A Greek Geometric bronze horse
circa late 8th century BC
Height: 7.8 cm
Provenance:
With Isao Kume (1938-2008), Kyoto, Japan
Private Collection, USA, acquired from the above, 9 April 1997
The horse standing on an openwork base, with a long snout with incised banding, and well-defined leg joints.
This charming Laconian-style example of a Geometric bronze horse exemplifies the characteristics common of horse figurines between 900 and 700 BC in the Geometric period, with long snouts and stick-like torsos. Horses surpassed gods and humans in their frequency of depiction during this era, and they became the most widely spread form of votive offering and were found predominantly in sanctuaries across the Greek world.
