Photo of Przewalski horse
Montastruc, Bruniquel, France.
Bone
Length: 3 cms
The British Museum
Palart.628
This tiny drawing of a standing stallion is on a fragment of bone from a larger piece that may originally have carried more representations. It is one of smallest known drawings in the art of this period and it is remarkable for the confidence and detail with which it is drawn. Despite its small scale the proportions of the body are accurately represented and shading is used to emphasise the contours of the neck, as well as the colour change on the side of the body. This required considerable artistic skill and it is difficult to imagine how a hand hardened by the tough outdoor life and activities of hunter –gatherers could have made something to perfect and small.
It is not known how such miniature works were viewed but whether they were shared or personal the enchantment of such images is that despite their size they are impossible to ignore even if they evade complete comprehension. It is possible that making such representations was as important as seeing them. Modern miniaturists report that such work induces a meditative state that slows the heartbeat and steadies the hand. The work itself produces an inner quiet and may bring nature and the supernatural into the microcosm of the human world. Whether such miniature depictions were concealed or displayed as magical devices, votive objects, totems or images of spirit helpers, it is unlikely that the experience was passive.