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Parthian horse-archer plaque
Syria, 1st Century BC-3rd Century AD



British Museum number135684
Description





Ceramic relief plaque of a mounted male archer; figure wearing trousers beneath a belted tunic, supported by a horned saddle; drawing a composite bow, wearing a four-lobed sword on his right thigh; pair of phalerae indicated by small relief blobs on the right shoulder and haunch of the horse; the plaque is hollow with a plain back and circular hole in the back; yellowish clay, relatively low fired; made in a two-part mould to form the back and front separately, with visible traces of vertical seam along the edges; complete, but bottom left corner chipped off and missing.
Culture/periodParthian
Date1stC-3rdC
Found/AcquiredSyria (said to be from)
Materialsceramic
Techniquemoulded
DimensionsHeight: 17 centimetres
Width: 15.6 centimetres
Thickness: 4 centimetres
Diameter: 2.1 centimetres (hole in the back)
Weight: 348 grammes


Seleucid or Parthian Cataphract and a Lion, Iraq, 3rd Century BC-2nd Century AD
Parthia, an extract from ANCIENT ARTS OF CENTRAL ASIA by Tamara Talbot Rice
Other Parthian Illustrations of Costume & Soldiers