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Equestrian

12th–16th century
Not on view
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.
Horses determined who ruled in the Middle Niger. From the thirteenth century, military corps protected cities and supported the foot soldiers of state armies. At the same time, the prodigious quantities of water and grain required for the survival of a horse in the Sahel presented a logistical challenge that constrained their deployment. In Middle Niger equestrian figures, the diminutive scale of the horse relative to its rider indicates a type of small West African pony that was described by Arab visitors to Sahelian courts.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Equestrian
  • Date: 12th–16th century
  • Geography: Mali, Inner Niger Delta
  • Culture: Middle Niger civilization
  • Medium: Terracotta
  • Dimensions: H. 17 5/16 × W. 6 11/16 × D. 11 13/16 in. (44 × 17 × 30 cm)
  • Classification: Ceramics-Sculpture
  • Credit Line: The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City (2000.31)
  • Curatorial Department: The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing