Four Sea Horses

Giovanni Francesco Rustici, artist

1474–1554

Four Sea Horses, circa early 1500s

Where object was made: Italy

Material/technique: terracotta

Dimensions:
Object Height/Width/Depth (Height x Width x Depth): 42.5 x 57 x 40 cm not including base
Object Height/Width/Depth (Height x Width x Depth): 16 3/4 x 22 7/16 x 15 3/4 in

Credit line: Gift from the Samuel H. Kress Study Collection

Accession number: 1960.0058

Not on display

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Label texts

Exhibition Label:
"Empire of Things," 2013, Kate Meyer
Biting and thrashing amidst rolling waves, these four fantastical equine creatures engage in a frantic struggle to the death. The mythic hippocamp, or seahorse in English, featured in Greek, Phoenician, and later Etruscan mythology. Associated with water, hippocampi appealed to European artists from the Renaissance and later periods as dramatic subjects for marine themes and projects. Possibly a sculptural model for a public or private fountain, this terracotta bozzetto conveys not only the physical vigor but
also the psychological intensity of the battling
hybrid beasts.