Head of a Horse in High Relief in the Princeton University Art Museum, August 2009

Head of a horse in high relief, from typanum over entrance to theatron, Seeia
ca. 33 – 1 B.C.

Roman

Brownish basalt

h. 23.3 cm., w. 13.5 cm., d. 21.5 cm. (9 3/16 x 5 5/16 x 8 7/16 in.) h. of head 23.3 cm. (9 3/16 in.), h. at neck 1.48 cm. (9/16 in.)

Place excavated: Syria / /

Princeton University Archaeological Expedition to Syria, 1904-5 and 1909

Object Number: y1930-440


Text from: artmuseum.princeton.edu/art/collections/ancient/search/

and

Hauranite Sculpture

The Hauran is a rugged region of southern Syria defined by gigantic, ancient lava flows. The area was explored by the Princeton University Expeditions to Syria in 1904-5, and 1909, directed by Professor Howard Crosby Butler. The Hauranite sculptures in the museum’s collection are carved from the gray-brown basalt distinctive to the region. Most are from Butler’s excavations at the site of Seeia, an important sanctuary founded by local Arab tribes. Two of the pieces exhibited here, the bust of a man and the head of a horse, are from the arched tympanum above the entrance gate of the sanctuary of the god Ba’al Shamin dating to the last quarter of the first century BC. The keystone with a torso of Nike (Victory) is from a later Roman gate at Seeia, dating to the late second or early third century AD.

Text from the Princeton University Art Museum label.