Height: 32.900 cm (D11)
Length: 78.700 cm (D11)
Height: 32.900 cm (D11)
Length: 78.700 cm (D11)
Castellani Collection
GR 1873.8-20.752 (Sculpture D11, D 12)
Room 71: Etruscan world
Limestone reliefs showing two men leading a horse
Etruscan, 490-470 BC
Found at Chiusi, Tuscany, Italy
Reliefs from a tomb-marker or ash-urn
This pair of limestone reliefs, which probably come from a tomb-marker (cippus) or cinerary urn (container for the cremated remains of the dead), show a youth with a whip, leading a horse by the reins, with a second man walking behind. The fact that one of the men is carrying a branch may mean that the horse has been victorious in a horse-race, since wreaths and branches were often given to winners in athletic and equestrian events. The same style of relief can be seen on other tomb-markers from Chiusi, also in the British Museum.
O. Brendel, Etruscan art, Pelican History of Art (Yale University Press, 1995)
E. Macnamara, The Etruscans-1 (London, The British Museum Press, 1990)
Shop Online
Etruscan people and culture, £20.00