Where Is Bronze man and centaur? Museum Location

Q: How old is this sculpture?

It dates to roughly 750 BCE, making it about 2,775 years old. It's one of the earliest known Greek bronze figural groups, from the Late Geometric period.

Q: What do the different eye materials mean?

The man's eyes were inlaid with silver, while the centaur's used reddish iron. This deliberate contrast distinguished the hero from the beast, showing ancient artists used material choices to tell the story.

Q: How small is it?

Just 4.4 inches (11.1 cm) tall. Despite its tiny size, the detail is precise. It was made using the lost-wax casting method and likely came from a workshop in Laconia or Olympia.

Ancient Greek One of the oldest known Greek bronze figural groups, dating to roughly 750 BCE. A man is locked in combat with a centaur, probably Herakles fighting Nessos after the centaur attacked Herakles' wife Dejanira. A weapon-head projects from the centaur's left side.

The eyes tell the story of ancient metalwork at its finest. The man's eyes were inlaid with silver, while the centaur's used reddish iron, creating a deliberate contrast between hero and beast. It stands just 4.4 inches (11.1 cm) tall, yet every detail is precise. Made using the lost-wax casting process, it comes from a Laconian Geometric workshop, possibly from Olympia.

J. Pierpont Morgan gifted it posthumously to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1917. It's in the Greek and Roman Art galleries.

It dates to roughly 750 BCE, making it about 2,775 years old. It's one of the earliest known Greek bronze figural groups, from the Late Geometric period.

The man's eyes were inlaid with silver, while the centaur's used reddish iron. This deliberate contrast distinguished the hero from the beast, showing ancient artists used material choices to tell the story.

Just 4.4 inches (11.1 cm) tall. Despite its tiny size, the detail is precise. It was made using the lost-wax casting method and likely came from a workshop in Laconia or Olympia.

Bronze man and centaur

Details

Where to See It

The Artist

More by Ancient Greek (Unknown)

Lion felling a bull, from a marble pediment

Marble statue of a lion

Fragment of a Funerary Naiskos (Monument in the Shape of a Temple)

Marble Statue of a Kouros (Youth)

Also at The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Lion felling a bull, from a marble pediment

Marble statue of a lion

Supper at Emmaus

Stela of the royal scribe Amunnakht praising the divine barque of Amun-Re, Lord of the Thrones of the Two Lands

About Bronze man and centaur

Own Art Like This