Object Description
Roman horse head handle fragment cast from bronze. The animal has been carefully and naturalistically rendered to display a long muzzle, with a well-defined bridge of the nose, large eyes and pointed ears. The short mane runs down the back of the neck with small grooves defining the hair and ends in a top knot between the horse’s ears. The neck of the animal emerges from a trefoil of large leaves. The fragment was probably the terminal of an oil lamp handle, curving in towards the body of the lamp. If this is the case, the chain under the trefoil would have probably connected to the lid of the lamp.
The piece has been mounted on a custom-made stand.
Date: Circa 1st-3rd century AD