Rory Breslin (b.1963)
Artemision Horse Study
Bronze on marble plinth base, 71cm high x 74cm long x 28cm wide (28 x 29 x 11'')
Signed
With white painted display pedestal
Edition 1 of...

Rory Breslin (b.1963)
Artemision Horse Study
Bronze on marble plinth base, 71cm high x 74cm long x 28cm wide (28 x 29 x 11'')
Signed
With white painted display pedestal
Edition 1 of 3

This sculpture is a study of the horse's head in one of the most popular and important displays in the National Archaeological Museum in Athens, the bronze Horse and Jockey Group. The group was found in a shipwreck off Cape Artemision, in North Euboea, which was discovered in 1926. The first parts of the equestrian statue were recovered in 1928, with more pieces found in 1936 and possibly 1937. The statue was reassembled, and after restoration went on display at the Museum in 1972.

The Horse and Jockey Group is special in being one of the few original large-scale bronzes securely dated to the Hellenistic period. It is approximately life-size in scale and consists of a horse in mid- gallop, on which is seated a youthful jockey, who looks back over his shoulder. The Horse and Jockey group is unusual in combining an athletic sculpture with an animal. The unknown sculptor of this masterpiece has captured the excitement and vitality of a horserace in mid-action. Some scholars have previously dated the group from the late fourth century B.C. to the first century B.C. The statues have been attributed previously to various sculptors, including Kalamis, Lysippos and the Pergamene school.

 

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