Day 292

It was the Ancient Romans who perfected the idea of the equestrian sculpture.  Capturing the likeness of a person in marble or broze had become so easy for them that they longed for another method of portraying a person.

The answer?

In addition to capturing the physical appearance of someone, they strove to show someone's personality.

One way of doing this was the use of the equestrian sculpture, or more simply, a person on a horse.

In this method, any of the several traits of the animal were transferred to the person riding it.  Power.  Dominance.  Gracefulness.  Beauty.  You name it.

Actually, the Romans weren't the first to mix human and animal traits.  The Ancient Egyptians placed the head of the pharaoh Khufu (or his son Chephren, depending on which story to believe) on a lion's body about 4,000 years ago.  (This is, of course, if you don't go for the Ancient Alien theory, but that's a story for another time.)

As for me, I love horses, but I decided to take it in another direction.  I pretty much always consider the rhinoceros to be my favorite zoo animal so that became my choice.  Whatever traits that could be attributed to a rhino...well, you be the judge.

#292 August 8, 2011,  Pen