Head of a Marble Horse Statue

The head of the horse statue consists of two rejoined fragments, corresponding to the bit and the head of the animal. Near the mouth, the holes intended to hold the reins of a metal bit are still visible. This detail suggests that the animal was not depicted in motion, but rather in a resting position, perhaps harnessed to a chariot within a narrative scene.

The two fragments were discovered at different moments during archaeological research at the Capo Colonna sanctuary: the bit was found in 1910 during excavations directed by Paolo Orsi, while the head itself emerged during more recent excavations in the early 2000s. The perfect correspondence between the two elements made it possible to reconstruct this refined sculptural work, which has been attributed to the decoration of the western pediment of Temple A. Moreover, the associated discovery of this head together with a fragment of a male leg belonging to a heroic nude figure suggests that the pediment featured a complex narrative composition. The scene likely included at least one heroic male figure and horses, and was probably set within a mythological or celebratory context of great significance for the local community.