The Iconography and Representation of The Horse

Depictions of the horse date back all the way to prehistoric times, making the artwork of horses and the relationship between horses and humans older than the written language of man.1 Horses first appeared in early artwork during prehistoric times within many ancient cave dwellings in Europe and northern Africa.2 At many cave sites across Spain and France, such as Niaux, Lascaux, Vallon-ont-Darc, ancient rock art is found and about a third of it all happens to contain horses.3 Horses were domesticated between 3000 and 2000 B.C., and began immediately playing a key role in the expansion of cultures themselves.4 Whether valued in war, transportation, productivity, agriculture, sport, as a symbol of status or as a symbol of life and spirit, the horse has been by far one of the largest contributors to the enhancement of civilization.5 Horses all played similar key roles in the Egyptian, Greek, and Chinese culture, just to name a few. Despite differences in establishment and lack of communication at the time, the Egyptian, the Greek, and the Chinese cultures shared the same attitude toward the horse, which is apparent in the iconography and representation of the horse in their artwork. Even though they had
1

Crane, Patricia. "Horse Art History - Art of the Horse in Periods of History." Horse Art: Horse Sculpture, Jewelry and Gifts, Information by Patricia Crane. http://www.artbycrane.com/horse-art-history/ (November 5, 2010). 2 Stokstad, Marilyn, Marion Spears Grayson, and Stephen Addiss. Art History . Fourth Edition ed. New York: H.N. Abrams, 1995. 3 http://www.artbycrane.com/horse-art-history/. 4 http://www.artbycrane.com/horse-art-history/. 5 Venefica, Ava. "Horse Symbol Meanings." What's your sign? Discover the Meaning of the Horse. http://www.whats-your-sign.com/horse-symbol-meanings.html (November 5, 2010).

2 different roles in different cultures at different times, horses all stood for similar things among these cultures; power, grace, beauty, nobility, and strength.6 Horses came to Egypt relatively later, during the Second Intermediate period between 1667 and 1570 B.C.7 At this time, new elements of warfare, including the horse and chariot, were brought over from the Near East.8 By the New Kingdom the horse was a familiar sight in Egypt and many artworks had been made including the horse. The horse in Egypt was mainly used for warfare and as a symbol of the military elite and ruling class.9 This is apparent in many tomb paintings inside of pyramids, which were built for royalty to be buried inside of. In wars between the Theban 17th Dynasty and the Hyksos both sides used horses in battle. Horses were used for chariots for the wealthy, and they were only allowed two horses per chariot.10 Animals played an extremely important role in the religion and iconography of Egypt. Many Egyptian gods were part human part animal, or a combination of animals put together. As a result, Egyptian artists were able to evoke the essential qualities of animals in their artwork. This is apparent in the piece Whip Handle in the Shape of a Horse. The piece is made of carved ivory and is the form of a leaping horse stained a reddish brown with a black mane.11 The piece emphasizes the grace and beauty of the animal because of the horses arched back, which was ever so carefully carved with attention to the curvature. The eyes were inlaid with garnet, which is a precious stone, telling the wealthy significance of the animal and how highly valued it was, considering
6 http://www.whats-your-sign.com/horse-symbol-meanings.html. 7

"The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York: metmuseum.org." The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York: metmuseum.org. http://metmuseum.org (November 5, 2010). 8 University College London. "Horses in Ancient Egypt." Digital Egypt for Universities. http://www.digitalegypt.ucl.ac.uk/foodproduction/horse.html (November 10, 2010). 9 http://www.digitalegypt.ucl.ac.uk/foodproduction/horse.html. 10 http://www.digitalegypt.ucl.ac.uk/foodproduction/horse.html. 11 http://metmuseum.org.

3 even royal families were only allowed to have two.12 Ultimately this piece displays the high value and beauty that the Egyptians saw in the horse. Horses were a central part of life in ancient Greece.13 They were essential to the Greeks in warfare, transportation, and the sports and games for which ancient Greece is known today.14 The horse was brought to Greece during the Middle Bronze Age, around 2000 B.C. Horses came to Greece from the steppes north of the Black Sea, which is where the horse is believed to have been first domesticated.15 The horse reminded the Greeks of centaurs, or half-horse, half-man creatures, which were a prominent part of Greek mythology and art. More significant mythological creatures to the Greeks, in addition to the centaur, were the Pegasos, or the winged horse, and the Hippalektryon, which was a cross between a horse and rooster. Greek mythology was extremely important to everyone at this time and another representation of the horse was the god Posiedon, who was the patron god of horses and earthquakes. Together the goddess Athena and her uncle Poseidon were thought to serve as protectors of horses and patrons of horsemanship and equestrian activities.16 So many Greek associations of the horse with these gods suggest what they thought the horse actually stood for, which is thought to have been power, victory, honor, domination, and virility, because of the use of horses in warfare.17 A sacred practice of the Greeks was to sacrifice a horse to the god Mars every October and to keep its
12 13

http://metmuseum.org. Ifigeneia, Mavrikou . "Greece Horses in Ancient Greece." EzineArticles Submission. http://ezinearticles.com/?Greece-Horses-in-Ancient-Greece&id=971992 (November 10, 2010). 14 http://ezinearticles.com/?Greece-Horses-in-Ancient-Greece&id=971992. 15 http://ezinearticles.com/?Greece-Horses-in-Ancient-Greece&id=971992. 16 Seton, Anya. "Symbols From Around the World: The History, Legends and Symbolism of The Horse." Symbols From Around the World. http://world-symbols.blogspot.com/2009/05/history-legends-and-symbolism-ofhorse.html (November 5, 2010).
17

http://world-symbols.blogspot.com/2009/05/history-legends-and-symbolism-of-horse.html.

4 tail through the winter as a sign of fertility and rebirth, which says that they thought the horse to be a symbol of the continuity of life.18 This act itself is depicted in many pieces of Greek art, as well as the horse attached to a chariot being used for warfare.19 The particular piece Bronze Statuette of a Horse, however, is interesting and very telling of what the horse was a symbol of to the Greeks because it is solely a bronze cast of the horse by itself.20 There are not too many details on the piece, but the overall gesture of the horse and the fact that the horse is alone are telling. The movement in the legs of the horse are in direct contrast to the stiff upper body portion of the animal, but they demonstrate the contrapposto style in Greek artwork, which shows a lifelike weight shift in the sculpture. The contrapposto displayed within the piece also displays this idea of grace and beauty that the horse traditionally has stood for. This sculpture, and others like it, were primarily religious in significance.21 They were made typically to be placed atop columns set at sanctuaries by the owner of the horse to commemorate victories in horse races, which were held at the Panhellenic sanctuaries of Olympia, Delphi, Isthmia, and Nemea.22 The horse also couldve been used as a decoration in a private home or to be sold as an actual piece of art at the time.23 Whatever the purpose for which it was made, the Greek Bronze Statuette of a Horse supports all of the above ideas that the Greeks thought the horse stood for. As a symbol in the Chinese Zodiac, the horse is associated in Chinese culture with practicality, love, war, power, strength, endurance, devotion, and stability, all of which
18 19

http://ezinearticles.com/?Greece-Horses-in-Ancient-Greece&id=971992. http://world-symbols.blogspot.com/2009/05/history-legends-and-symbolism-of-horse.html. 20 http://metmuseum.org. 21 http://metmuseum.org. 22 http://metmuseum.org. 23 Stokstad.

5 equate to be the sign Gemini.24 Around 5,000 years ago the horse was domesticated in northeastern China. The horse was essential to survival during the Middle Kingdom, and its importance began during the Shang Dynasty.25 At this time horses were used to power vehicles, but owners were also thought of as personally connected to their horses because when they died their horses were entombed with them to accompany them in the next life.26 During the Zhou Dynasty horses were primarily used to draw chariots during warfare. As the empire spread horses became essential for use of communication across the empire, for maintaining control, and for the transportation of good and supplies throughout the country.27 During the rise of the Han Dynasty the Chinese transitioned to warfare that involved mounted cavalry in order to face the threat of nomadic neighbors to the north and west.28 The use of the horse in warfare to begin with started out with the Chinese mythology behind the horse, which was that the horse was associated with the dragon, capable of putting up a fight and of carrying the rider to the home of the immortals.29 Along with the increase of the role of horses used in warfare came an increase of the significance of horses in recreational activities. Dancing horses entertained royalty in court ceremonies, and polo and hunting on horseback became stylish for members of both sexes.30 This is specifically represented in the Chinese piece Two Equestrian Figures dating back to the Tang Dynasty. These were made for use as tomb

24 25

http://world-symbols.blogspot.com/2009/05/history-legends-and-symbolism-of-horse.html. International Museum of the Horse. "Imperial China: The Art of the Horse: Horses in History." Kentucky Educational Television: Education, Public Affairs, Arts and Culture, Online Video. http://www.ket.org/artofthehorse/ed/history.htm (November 10, 2010). 26 http://www.ket.org/artofthehorse/ed/history.htm. 27 http://www.ket.org/artofthehorse/ed/history.htm. 28 http://www.ket.org/artofthehorse/ed/history.htm. 29 http://www.ket.org/artofthehorse/ed/history.htm. 30 http://www.ket.org/artofthehorse/ed/history.htm.

6 furnishings and an extreme attention to detail is obvious in horse and human figure, as well as the proportions of each in relation to one another.31 The fact that the horses are included with the figures sitting on top is telling of the importance of horses and horseback riding, for both men and women. These art pieces show how important the horse was in everyday Chinese culture and how common they were for everyday use. In its entirety, the horse is connected through the cultures of ancient Egypt, Greece, and China because of the way in which it is represented in these three artworks discussed above. The way the horse is viewed in each culture is similar in that they all think of the horse being a symbol of power, grace, beauty, nobility, and strength.32 This directly correlates to then how the horse is depicted in art from each of these periods. All three artworks are at least somewhat realistic because of the regular uses of horses in each culture. The horses are shown as graceful and beautiful creatures and in all artworks are depicted alive, even though in Egypt, Greece, and China they were commonly used in warfare and were quite often killed. The portrayal of the horses alive relates to the idea of the horse being a symbol of life and rebirth, which was why the artworks were made to accompany the dead owners in their tombs for the afterlife. The common theme of the horse and what it stood for is similar in the three cultures talked about above. The artworks discussed all relate to one another because of the iconography of the horse and its meaning being so similar in each, despite all the endless differences between these cultures. This says that ancient Egypt, Greece, and China shared the same attitude toward the horse, which can be supported by the artworks from each culture.
31 32

http://metmuseum.org. http://www.whats-your-sign.com/horse-symbol-meanings.html.