A horse-harness ornament from Xanten

This decorated fitting once belonged on a horse’s harness. It is bronze with a silvered surface, made around AD 50. The shape and finish gave a practical piece of equipment a strong visual presence. The fitting is known as a phalera, an ornament attached to harness. It comes from Xanten, a place within the Roman world. Looking at a single surviving ornament asks you to move between two scales, the close work on the metal and the much larger body of the horse that carried it. Other components from the trappings have their own histories and records. The Museum purchased this piece from William Chaffers. The fitting can support a close look at the surface and form. It cannot by itself recover a complete horse, rider or battle. Imagine it moving with the harness, then return to the object’s actual size. Decoration had to work on equipment seen in motion as well as at rest.