Gallopping Horse, 650-625 BC

This gallopping horse has been rendered in a realistic position: the moment of suspension. The position of the legs is not completely correct, but the artist has catched the suspension moment, which hardly any artist did before 1872, when Marey published his graphic experiments, subsequently confirmed by the photographs of Muybridge. There are no signs of any harness on this horse, so it may have been a free running horse. A wild horse is unlikely in Greece and the manes have been made up just as is done in harness horses. The statuette was used to decorate a vessel. 

It is included in G.E. Hatzi, The Archaeological Museum of Olympia, John S. Latsis Foundation, Olympia, ca. 2004.

On February 18 the newspapers reported about an armed robbery at this museum in Olympia on February 17, whereby about 60 bronze statuettes and a gold ring were stolen. This picture of the galopping horse could well be among them!

This article is reposted from the website of the author Boudewijn Commandeur: thehorseinart.nl