Where Is Jockey of Artemision? Museum Location

Ancient Greek The Jockey of Artemision shows a young boy urging his horse forward at full gallop, both figures captured in explosive motion. Created around 150 BCE, this Hellenistic bronze was recovered in pieces from the same shipwreck that yielded the Artemision Bronze. The horse and rider form one of antiquity's most dynamic sculptures.

The boy's face shows intense concentration and strain, his small body barely controlling the powerful horse beneath him. The animal's veins bulge with effort, and its mouth opens around a now-missing bit. Racing was a dangerous sport, and jockeys were often slaves or lower-class boys whose lives mattered less than the valuable horses they rode.

The reassembled group is displayed at the National Archaeological Museum of Athens.

The sculpture is at the National Archaeological Museum of Athens. Horse and rider were found separately in the same shipwreck as the Artemision Bronze.

The group measures 290 × 250 cm (9 ft 6 in × 8 ft 2 in). The near life-size horse dwarfs its small jockey, emphasizing the dangerous imbalance of ancient racing.

Jockeys were typically slaves or poor boys, chosen for their light weight. Their social status made them expendable in a sport that killed horses and riders alike.

Hellenistic sculptors excelled at capturing motion. This racing scene pushes bronze technique to its limits, freezing a moment of explosive speed and danger.

Jockey of Artemision

Details

Where to See It

The Artist

Cite or Embed This Work

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 National Archaeological Museum of Athens

Mask of Agamemnon

Artemision Bronze

Antikythera Youth

Charioteer of Delphi

Horse from the Chariot of Selene

Boxer at Rest

About Jockey of Artemision

Own Art Like This