Horse sculptures, also known as equestrian statues, usually consist of the ‘eques,’ which is Latin for the Knight and the ‘equus,’ which translates to ‘horse.’ If horse sculptures don’t have a knight, it is known as the ‘equine statue.’ With that covered, equestrian statues date back to Archaic Greece, where the ‘Rampin Rider’ could be seen mounted on their horse. Many Persian, Assyrian, and Egyptian reliefs have also depicted mounted figures, but these mostly consisted of their rulers. Furthermore, in Ancient Rome, horse sculptures commemorated their statesmen or military leaders that played an active role in Roman leadership.
Most Roman horse sculptures were designed as bronze portraits of Roman emperors. These creations, however, were incredibly rare because most were melted down to make new sculptures for the Church or to be used as an alloy for coin production. After Rome, there were hardly any surviving horse sculptures, but in the 15th century, Italy witnesses quite a few legendary creations to memorialize their most prominent mercenary generals. What’s more, even Leonardo da Vinci had got involved by planning to make a huge equestrian monument for Milanese ruler Francesco Sforza but ended up only designing a clay model. However, Da Vinci did create the famed ‘Rearing Horse and Mounted Warrior,’ which was probably among his most prominent works.
Speaking of famed artists, Titan designed a horse sculpture for the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V. His son Ferdinand I followed in his footsteps to create the glorious depiction of the Grand-Duke, and it is situated right in the middle of Florence. Ironically, Ferdinand also got his own equestrian sculpture in 1608, which had been completed by Giambologna’s assistant Pietro Tacca. Tacca then moved on to produce, so beautiful public commission for Philip IV, and most of his creations are the centerpiece of Royal Palace’s facade. Most of his creations can be distinguished because they are balancing on two rear legs – but the artist’s real feat was the tail. Now that you’re considering getting your own horse sculptures, you know where it all started and what glorious histories they represent. Do you want to know another interesting fact before we end this post? Well, it is hard to tell for sure if this is a myth or fact, but a raised hoof of your figurine may also suggest that its Knight died a glorious death in battle.