The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of July 13, 2025
Head of a Horseman (known as the de Nion Head)
550–540 BC
Overall: 24.1 x 15.5 x 19.5 cm (9 1/2 x 6 1/8 x 7 11/16 in.)
Anonymous Loan 24.2011
Location: 102B Greek
Description
Sensitively carved with great respect for pattern and symmetry, this remarkably well preserved head likely comes from a nearly life-size Archaic equestrian sculpture, indicated by its slight turn to the left. Because very few such sculptures survive, their original purpose remains uncertain. They perhaps honored a member of the horse-owning aristocracy or an equestrian victory, or they represented a mythological figure such as Poseidon, a son of Theseus, or one of the twin half-brothers Kastor or Polydeukes. Traces of red in the eyes’ irises and on the hair, beard, and upper lip indicate paint was used for many details, now mostly lost and faded from originally darker colors.- Pollini, John. The De Nion Head: A Masterpiece of Archaic Greek Sculpture. Mainz am Rhein: Zabern, 2003.Merrill, Larry, Kathleen Wakefield, and Archie Rand. An Accumulation of Silence. 2021, 24. Reproduced: p. 24.
- Metropolitain Museum of Art, January 19, 1999-May 4, 2001 (L. 1999.30)
- {{cite web|title=Head of a Horseman (known as the de Nion Head)|url=false|author=|year=550–540 BC|access-date=13 July 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/24.2011