Horse blinker carved in relief with a wedjat eye
Unknown Artist
ca. 8th century BCE
Medium
Ivory
Dimensions
3.23 x 2.2 x 0.31 in. (8.2 x 5.59 x 0.79 cm)
Classification
Ivory/Bone-Equestrian
Culture & Period
Assyrian · Neo-Assyrian
Department
Ancient Near Eastern Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Rogers Fund, 1960
Accession Number
60.145.4
Tags
Art Historical Context
This delicate ivory horse blinker, in low relief with a prominent wedjat eye, hails from the Neo-Assyrian period around the 8th century. Crafted for elite equestrian use—likely on war chariots or cavalry mounts—it measures just over 3 inches wide, a testament to the Assyrians' mastery of miniature sculpture. The Neo-Assyrian Empireca. 911–609 BCE) dominated the Ancient Near East through military innovation, and such gear equipped their formidable horse-drawn forces, symbolizing imperial power and mobility. The wedjat eye, an ancient Egyptian motif adopted by Assyrians through cultural exchang...