Part V. A Mycenaean Cavalryman

Abstract

Terracotta figurine (Figs. 47 and 48). Ht. 0·09 m. L. preserved 0·08 m. Broken in four pieces and much damaged. Fine orange clay, the surface smoothed or burnished. Decoration in red lustrous paint, much worn.The figurine seems to represent an armed man riding astride upon an animal. The animal and its rider were moulded separately and were put together while the clay was still soft before firing. The rider's legs are not represent ed. He is wearing a conical helmet, and in his right hand he is clasping what appears to be the hilt of a sword or dagger slung in front of him: but the object might be intended for a bow or quiver. The left hand of the rider and the top of his sword are missing: so is the head of the animal and three of its legs, and there are chips from the remaining leg and from the tail. The animal, from its size in relation to the man and on grounds of general probabilities, may be assumed to be a horse.The horse has a stripe down its back and vertical zebra-like stripes along the sides which continue down the legs and round the neck. The rider's helmet is painted solid, and his eyes are represented by dots. There is a single broad stripe down his back; but any decoration which there may have been in front, on his chest and on the sword, has left no trace.