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Stele of a rider-god

Roman Provincial
Greco-Roman Period
presumably of the 1st or 2nd century A.D.

Medium/Technique Marble
Dimensions 33.1 x 16.5 cm (13 1/16 x 6 1/2 in.)
Credit Line Gift of J. T. Clarke
Accession Number84.235
NOT ON VIEW
ClassificationsSculpture

Catalogue Raisonné Sculpture in Stone (MFA), no. 284.
DescriptionA male figure in helmet, short tunic, and cloak rides to the right. Horse and rider are framed by a rough molding which runs into the irregular edges of the stele.
The relief is difficult to date, whether in the late Hellenistic or Graeco-Roman periods. The span of time suggested above is based chiefly on the incidence of other such monuments from northwest Asia Minor. The classical Greek proportions of the horse are a strange contrast with the elongated face of the rider. These differences may be explained by the somewhat primitive quality of the relief.

Scientific Analysis:

University of South Florida Lab No. 8479: Isotope ratios - delta13C +1.7 / delta18O -12.3,

Attribution - unknown source. Justification - C and O isotopes, coarse grain
ProvenanceFrom an ancient site on the northeast slope of Mount Ida, discovered by Clarke and Diller in 1882; gift of J. T. Clarke to MFA, January 1884