Cottenham Relief

A young man leading his horse. This was a common subject — horsemanship was part of the obligatory military training — and is often found on painted vases as well as sculpture. There are small drill holes visible where the horse’s bridle would have been added in metal, long since lost. Other details such as the young man’s clothing would have been painted on. The original of this cast has an unusual history. It was found by a farmer in a field in Cottenham, just outside Cambridge, in 1911. How it got there is unknown

Number

Material

Marble

Location of Original

Malibu, Getty Museum

Size

0.28m

Accession

Given by Spink & Son, art dealers, in the mid 1950s

References

Lippold: Griechische Plastik, 84 (n.15), pl. 27.3
Cook, AB: Journal of Hellenic Studies XXXVI (1916), 22-
Cook, AB: Journal of Hellenic Studies XXXVII (1917), 116-
Vermeule & Bothmer: American Journal of Archaeology (1959), 143

Date

c.500 BCE

Provenance

Rediscovered in Cottenham, Cambridge in 1911

Search Casts

Museum of Classical Archaeology, Cambridge

Every cast tells two stories.
One ancient. One modern.

Admission is free.

Opening hours

Tues-Fri: 10-5pm
Sat: 2-5pm (Univ. term-time only)
Sun & Mon: Closed

Closed on Bank Holiday Mondays

Visit us

Museum of Classical Archaeology
Faculty of Classics
Sidgwick Avenue
Cambridge
CB3 9DA

Get in touch

Tel. +44 (0)1223 330402
Email museum@classics.cam.ac.uk
Join our mailing list

For an explanation of what personal information we gather when you visit the University’s website and details of how that information is used please see the following University Privacy policy:

https://www.cam.ac.uk/about-this-site/privacy-policy

Copyright statement

All images and material on our websites are ©Museum of Classical Archaeology, University of Cambridge unless otherwise stated. Please contact us to reproduce our images using a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 licence.

Important Information

Museum of Classical Archaeology Web Accessibility Statement