International congress of byzantine studies belgrade, 22 27 august 2016

Andrea Torno Ginnasi
Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy; 
[e-mail]
The Horses of Justinian I: Equestrian Images as a Symbol of Authority 
between Military and Ceremonial Models
The paper aims to discuss equestrian representations depicting Justinian I in art and 
numismatics, through the examination of different iconographic reference models. Based on the 
chronological sequence generally followed by scholars, we encounter the well-known ‘Barberini 
ivory’. The relief, often connected to the peace treaty signed with the Persians in the 532, shows a 
‘dynamic scheme’ with the victorious rider on a rampant horse, clad in military attire and surrounded 
by offering figures. The famous lost gold medallion, kept in Paris until its theft in 1831, is fortunately 
documented in detail by electrotypes and graphic restitutions. The piece, possibly related to the 
victory on the Vandals in 534, would reflect an interim step towards a more ceremonial connotation 
of the equestrian iconography. Despite the military elements – such as the sovereign’s dress and 
the spear – the still pose of the horse, the exhibition of the 
toupha
and the lack of references to 

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635
the battlefield reveal the donative purposes of the object. An even more explicit cohesion to the 
‘ceremonial scheme’ is traceable on the bronze statue once standing in Constantinople, most likely 
set in 543/544, attested by literary sources and graphic restitutions. The complex history of the 
monument, a reused and probably reworked statue of the Theodosian period, does not prevent to 
recognise the commemorative value of a solemn image, by now totally deprived of military aspects. 
The gradual regression of warlike characters in favour of ceremonial meanings emerges through 
the comparison with earlier works, from both the Eastern and the Western spheres, pointing the 
importance of the subject as a symbol of authority.