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Torso of an Equestrian

3rd–11th century, excavated 1985
Not on view
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.
Between the third and tenth centuries, the dead were laid to rest at a site in present-day Niger downstream from the Inland Niger delta. The burial ground’s density and expanse suggest a veritable city of the departed. Several hundred individual graves were marked by upturned pottery urns, some of which were cylinders topped by figurative imagery such as this torso. The most elaborate of these were full-bodied equestrians, while the most basic were highly abstract, independent heads.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Torso of an Equestrian
  • Date: 3rd–11th century, excavated 1985
  • Geography: Niger, Bura Region
  • Culture: Bura-Asinda-Sikka
  • Medium: Terracotta
  • Dimensions: H. 12 × W. 5 15/16 × D. 7 1/16 in. (30.5 × 15.1 × 18 cm)
  • Classification: Ceramics-Sculpture
  • Credit Line: Institut de Recherches en Sciences Humaines, Université Abdou Moumouni de Niamey, Niger
  • Curatorial Department: The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing