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Bronze nose piece from a horse's trappings

4th century CE
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 171
The decoration is divided into three tiers. In the uppermost, a swan (which may allude to the myth of Leda) approaches a woman who extends her palm; to the right, another woman is seated by an overturned jar. In the second tier, a seated woman is confronted by a standing woman with an outstreched right hand. In the third tier, two nude men are depicted with a seated woman in a tub-like boat. Scholars have debated the identification of this incised, bronze nose piece. It has been considered to be an Etruscan work of the third century B.C. but is, more likely, a much later Roman work of the fourth century A.D.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Bronze nose piece from a horse's trappings
  • Period: Late Imperial
  • Date: 4th century CE
  • Culture: Roman
  • Medium: Bronze
  • Dimensions: L. 10 5/16 in. (26.2 cm.)
    W. 7 7/16 in. (18.9 cm.)
  • Classification: Bronzes
  • Credit Line: Rogers Fund, 1913
  • Object Number: 13.225.7
  • Curatorial Department: Greek and Roman Art

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