Horse and rider startled by a snake

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

As his horse paws the air, a shouting rider raises his spear (now lost) to impale a snake. The statuette’s three figures were cast separately and later assembled to form the group. In a demonstration of virtuosic technique, the weight of the rider and horse balances effortlessly on the twin points of the horse’s rear hooves. The rare subject of this exquisite bronze derives from a precious classical cameo (a gem carved in relief).

European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The fifty thousand objects in the Museum's comprehensive and historically important collection of European sculpture and decorative arts reflect the development of a number of art forms in Western European countries from the early fifteenth through the early twentieth century. The holdings include sculpture in many sizes and media, woodwork and furniture, ceramics and glass, metalwork and jewelry, horological and mathematical instruments, and tapestries and textiles. Ceramics made in Asia for export to European markets and sculpture and decorative arts produced in Latin America during this period are also included among these works.

Metropolitan Museum of Art