BALI
HORSE AND RIDER
bronze, crowned male figure riding a horse with right arm outstretched, possibly wielding a weapon
13.0 cm height
Donald Friend drew 'The Stone Horseman of Yeh Pulo' from the bas-relief carved into rock at the site of YehPulo at Bedulu in Gianyar, illustrated in The CosmicTurtle. 1 He also illustrates another miniature bronze horse and rider,2 writing 'Siddartha leaving his father's palace accompanied by a servant. An 11th-12th century casting from a period when Buddhism in Indonesia had not yet been submerged in Hinduism. In Bali, at Ye Pulo, near Pedjeng, there is a fine rock carving dating from the 10th century of a curious variation of this subject. According to legend, the giant KboIwo carved it in the cliff-face with his fingernails.'
1. Friend, D., The Cosmic Turtle: Batujimbar Bali, Carroll's, Perth, in association with P.T. Bab Bali, 1976, p. 50
2. ibid., p. 71