Jockey of Artemision | |
---|---|
Material | Bronze |
Size | height: 2.1 meters length: 2.9 meters |
Height | 2.1 meters |
Created | 150 – 140 BC |
Discovered | 1926 Aegean Sea, Mediterranean Sea |
Present location | Athens, Attica, Greece |
The Jockey of Artemision is a large Hellenistic bronze statue of a young boy riding a horse, dated to around 150–140 BC.[1][2] It is a rare surviving original bronze statue from Ancient Greece and a rare example in Greek sculpture of a racehorse. Most ancient bronzes were melted down for their raw materials some time after creation, but this one was saved from destruction when it was lost in a shipwreck in antiquity, before being discovered in 1926. It may have been dedicated to the gods by a wealthy person to honour victories in horse races, probably in the single-horse race (Greek: κέλης - kēles).[1] The artist is unknown.