Head of a Horse

Description Originally part of a large equestrian monument, this head allows us to imagine what was a common sight for the ancient viewer: imposing public statuary that embodied the civic values of imperial Rome. Military officials were often depicted on horseback, and the rider that was represented on the monument was likely a member of the imperial family. Such statues contained large amounts of bronze, and most were melted down for reuse in weapons and other implements in later times of crisis.

Conservation

Date	Description	Narrative
7/20/1970	Treatment	cleaned
1/16/1974	Treatment	cleaned; coated; other
7/21/1995	Examination	other
7/21/1995	Treatment	other

Exhibitions

• Early Christian and Byzantine Art. Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore. 1947.
• The Taste of Maryland: Art Collecting in Maryland 1800-1934. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. 1984.
• The Allure of Bronze. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. 1995.
• Fire of Hephaistos: Large Classical Bronzes from North American Collections. Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge; Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo; Tampa Museum of Art, Tampa. 1996.
• Highlights from the Collection. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. 1998-2001.

Provenance Casteleone de Suasa (?) [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; D. Emmanuele Ruspoli, Rome (?) [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Don Marcello Massarenti Collection, Rome [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1902, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.

Credit Acquired by Henry Walters with the Massarenti Collection, 1902