Inventory number
Ακρ. 697
Artist
Attic workshop
Category
Sculpture
Period
Archaic Period
Date
Around 500 BC
Dimensions
Height: 1.07 m
Length: 0.46 m
Material
Marble from Paros
Location
Archaic Acropolis Gallery
Front part of a horse statue found east of the Erechtheion in 1887. The lower part of both legs is a modern restoration.
The animal is moving to the right lightly lifting its right leg and turning his head to the same direction. The horse has a short upraised mane, dilated nostrils and a slightly open mouth. Traces of red colour survive on the mane, eyes and nostrils. Two more fragments, Ακρ. 572 and Ακρ. 573, have been attributed to the hoof and the supporting pillar underneath the animal’s belly.
Some scholars believe that the statue was dedicated to the Acropolis sanctuary to commemorate a victory on the keles event. Others, however, suggest that it forms part of a sculptural group, used to decorate the pediment of a building on the Acropolis. The fragments of a man’s feet and a second horse (Ακρ. 571 and Ακρ. 574) coming from the opposite direction, as well as a statue of Athena (Ακρ. 142) and the fragmentary figures of two crouching youths (Ακρ. 160 and Ακρ. 168), have also been attributed to the same pediment.
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