Description
Our plaque is a faithful reproduction of a Greek relief of a pacing horse and nude rider (1st century B.C.) in the Museum’s collection. Of particular note on the original is the sensitive surface texture and anatomical detail of the subject. These characteristics were typical of relief sculptures during the Hellenistic period in Greece, where lavish ornamentation took precedence over the visual unity of sculptural works. The original relief may be a copy of one that was well-known in antiquity, for two other relief sculptures show an almost identical horseman followed by another rider on a horse with the same pacing gait. The Hellenistic period spanned the three centuries between the death of Alexander the Great (323 B.C.) and the Battle of Actium (31 B.C.). During this time, royal families in Greece and the Near East lived in splendid palaces with elaborate banquet halls and sumptuously decorated rooms and gardens. Court festivals and symposia held in the royal palaces provided opportunities for lavish displays of wealth. Hellenistic kings became prominent patrons of the arts, commissioning public works of architecture and sculpture, as well as private luxury items that demonstrated their wealth and taste.
