LOT 0616

Archaic Greek Terracotta Mounted Warrior

7TH-5TH CENTURY B.C.

5 7/8 in. (262 grams total, 15 cm including stand).

Modelled in the round as a mounted warrior, the stylised horse modelled standing on stub legs, with a long neck, the warrior holding a shield in his left hand, right hand and arm raised to eye level, wearing a crested helmet; restored and mounted on a custom-made display stand. [No Reserve]

Acquired before 1990.
From an old German collection.

Cf. Marantidou, P., Terracotta statues and figurines of Cypriote type found in the Aegean. Provenance studies, Limassol, 2009, pls.XIII no.SAH69, XXXII, no.CYP50, for the type.

Terracotta figurines of horse and rider were common grave offerings in Boeotia, northwest of Attica, particularly during the 6th century B.C. Representations of warriors on horseback were already widespread in the Geometric Period, and also widely employed in Cyprus in this same period. The image of our rider, although influenced by Cypriot designs, does not show typical Cypriot characteristics, and indeed his kausia cap suggests a northern Greek origin.