Jockey of Artemision
| Jockey of Artemision | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Material | Bronze |
| Size | height: 2.1 meters length: 2.9 meters |
| Height | 2.1 meters |
| Created | 150 – 140 BC |
| Discovered | 1926 Aegean Sea, Mediterranean Sea |
| Present location | Athens, Attica, Greece |
The Jockey of Artemision is a large
bronze statue of a young boy riding a horse, dated to around 150–140 BC.[1][2] It is a rare surviving original bronze statue from Ancient Greece and a rare example in Greek sculpture of a racehorse. Most ancient bronzes were melted down for their raw materials some time after creation, but this one was saved from destruction when it was lost in a shipwreck in antiquity, before being discovered in 1926. It may have been dedicated to the gods by a wealthy person to honour victories in horse races, probably in the single-horse race (Greek: κέλης - kēles).[1]
The artist is unknown.
Discovery and display
The statue was found in a shipwreck off
Cape Artemision, in north Euboea, which was discovered in 1926.[3] Also found in the wreck were parts of the Artemision Bronze.[4] The first parts of the equestrian statue were recovered in 1928, with more pieces found in 1936 and/or 1937.[1][5] The statue was reassembled, after restoration of the horse's tail and body, and it went on display at the National Archaeological Museum, Athens
in 1972.
Origins
The original artist and the circumstances under which the work was created are unknown. However, Seán Hemingway has suggested that it may have been plundered from
Design and construction
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The
chiton
, and looks back over his left shoulder.
See also
- Charioteer of Delphi, a 5th-century bronze
Notes and references
- ^ a b c d e f g Seán Hemingway, The Horse and Jockey from Artemision: A Bronze Equestrian Monument of the Hellenistic Period. Review by Janet Burnett Grossman in Bryn Mawr Classical Review, 2005.02.18. Retrieved 29 May 2013. Archived here.
- ^ National Archaeological Museum, Athens, date the statue to 140 BC.
- ^ Seán A. Hemingway, The horse and jockey from Artemision : a bronze equestrian monument of the Hellenistic period. Hellenistic culture and society ; 45. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2004, p. 35-37.
- ^ "Archaelogical Work In Near East" in The Times, 5 April 1929, p.13.
- ^ a b X 15177. National Archaeological Museum, Athens, 2012. Retrieved 29 May 2013. Archived here.
Further reading
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Artemision jockey.
- Hemingway, Seán. (2004) The Horse and Jockey from Artemision: A Bronze Equestrian Monument of the Hellenistic Period. Berkeley: ISBN 0-520-23308-5.
Major exhibits at the National Archaeological Museum of Athens | ||
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| Neolithic |  | |
| Cycladic | ||
| Minoan | ||
| Mycenaean | ||
| Archaic | ||
| Classical | ||
| Hellenistic | ||
Roman | ||