Details

LOT 0017

Graeco-Roman Horse-Head Finial

1ST-2ND CENTURY AD

5 1/2" (557 grams, 14cm).

A bronze horse-head with open mouth and ruffled mane emerging from the centre of a lily; mounted on a custom-made stand. Accompanied by an Art Loss Register certificate.

Provenance

Ex Gorny and Mosch, 18th December 2013, lot 310.

Footnotes

Possibly a fitting from a piece of furniture this horse head displays the same dynamism and realistic energy as the famous statues of horses that stand over the entrance to Saint Mark's in Venice. The horses from Saint Mark's are attributed to the famous sculptor Lysippos who created them in the fourth century BC. Such was the fame of the horses in antiquity that they appear to have influenced many later Roman artists. This would indeed appear to be the case with this piece, which can be described as a minor masterpiece of bronze sculpture.

CONDITION