Collection: Athens, Agora Museum
Title: Bronze Equestrian Statue
Context: From Athens, Agora
Findspot: Excavated at Athens, Agora
Summary: Fragments of large bronze equestrian statue
Material: Bronze
Sculpture Type: Free-standing statue
Category: Single sculpture
Style: Early Hellenistic
Date: ca. 300 BC
Dimensions:

Leg: L 0.87m, Sword: L 0.88m
Scale: Life-size
Region: Attica
Period: Early Hellenistic

Subject Description:

The fragments belong to large equestrian statue, approximately life-size. Grooves in the bronze containing precious metal indicate gilding, the technique similar to one used in Athens as early as the 5th century (cf. bronze head of Nike from the Agora, Athens, Agora B 30). The statue is said to date from the late 4th century. The use of an equestrian pose, a subject popularized by Alexander the Great, the scale of the statue and the gilding, heretofore used for statues of divinities, point to a person of great importance. Demetrios Poliorcetes has been suggested. At least one gilded equestrian statue of his is known to have been erected in the Agora, near the statue of Demokratia, perhaps not far from the well near the Crossroads Enclosure where the pieces were discarded about 200 B.C. In the late 4th century Demetrios was considered a hero in Athens for having restored the democracy. Two centuries later the wave of anti-Macedonian sentiment sweeping Athens may have motivated the dismantling of such a statue.

Form & Style:

The type of equestrian group popularized by Alexander, at least in the monument designed to celebrate Granicus, is thought to have been an active figure on a rearing horse. The Agora group strikes a more reserved pose. The relaxed leg and quiet drapery suggest a calm moment, in the manner of the Marcus Aurelius monument several centuries later. The drapery is rendered as substantial fabric, with wide, deep folds and movement in a variety of directions. There is an interest in realism here, also evident in the detailed rendering of the sandals. Perhaps the same qualities were evident in the head. Portraits of this period could be quite individualized, as evidenced by the statue of Mausolus half a century earlier.

Condition: Fragmentary

Condition Description:

Fragments include a lower leg with foot, the other foot, two sections of drapery, a sword with case and other very small pieces.

Collection History: Excavated from the well near the Crossroads Enclosure on the north side of the Agora in 1971.

Sources Used:

Shear 1973a, 165-8; Houser 1982, 229-238; Camp 1986, 164-5; Agora Guide 1990, 255