1.11 Facts and figures
Having been a chartered accountant for almost 40 years, it is inevitable that there will be some statistics in this book. They are based on the data I have collected about the 1,154 statues that I am aware of. It also goes without saying that the data concerning the 64 per cent of the statues that I have physically seen is more detailed than that regarding the 36 per cent I have yet to visit.
1.11.1 How many equestrian statues are there worldwide?
I have often been asked how many equestrian statues there are. To answer this question, I first had to define what an equestrian statue is, which is detailed in Section 1.3. Based on this definition, I estimate the total number of equestrian statues worldwide to be around 1,250.
In Annexe 1 of this book, I have listed the 1,154 equestrian statues I have found so far. One thing is for sure: the list is not complete. However, based on my experience and research, I would venture to suggest that I have listed by now some 90 per cent of the existing statues. This is the basis for my estimate of 1,250 in total. Of the 1,154 statues listed, I have photographed about 64 per cent to date.
1.11.2 Where are these statues located?
Some 44 per cent of the statues I have found are in Europe, 16 per cent in North America, 13 per cent in Central America, the Caribbean and South America, 25 per cent in Asia and the remaining 2 per cent in the rest of the world.
The top 10 countries with the most equestrian statues are:
- The US (178)
- India (115)
- France (61) 2020: 62
- Germany (60) 2020: 63
- The UK (55)
- Italy (54) 2020 63
- Mexico (36) 2020: 35
- 8/9 Russia and Japan (34)
- Spain (33) 2020: 34
Taken together, these ten countries are home to more than half of the equestrian statues worldwide.
With 18, Paris is the city with the most equestrian statues. Washington DC follows closely, with 17 examples. London and Budapest accommodate respectively 14 and 13 statues.
Cities that have 12 equestrian statues are New York City and Skopje. Vienna and Buenos Aires are each home to 11 equestrian statues. Madrid and Tsonjin Boldog each have ten statues, Pune and Rome each have nine and Santiago de Chile, Philadelphia and Gettysburg each have eight.
The equestrian statues listed in Annexe 1 are spread over no fewer than 93 countries.
The low number of equestrian statues in a number of Asian and African countries can be explained to a great extent by the fact that Islam, the most practised religion in those parts of the world, traditionally prohibits the depiction of humans and animals.
1.11.3 When were these statues created?
I have been able to determine the date of creation of more than 76 per cent of the statues.
About 7 per cent of these date from before 1850 and 22 per cent from the second half of the nineteenth century. Some 33 per cent date from the first half of the twentieth century, 22 per cent from the second half and 16 per cent from after 2000.
The heyday of the equestrian statue in Europe was the period between 1876 and 1900, and in the US between 1901 and 1925; not by accident, periods during which horses played a vital role in battles. After World War I, the military use of horses virtually vanished. Nevertheless, the number of new equestrian statues in the period between 1925 and 2000 is still surprisingly high and the same applies to the period after 2000. This is especially true for Europe and Asia, where the numbers have been rising consistently since 1850.
The prediction in The Oxford Companion to Western Art that ‘The history of the equestrian monument seems to be near its end, since great man of the future are unlikely to be commemorated on horseback’, does not take into account the tendency to create equestrian statues to substantiate nationalistic feelings, and the fact that dictators even today still want to be immortalized on a horse.
Based on the history of other equestrian statues in the countries concerned, I made an estimate of the dates of creation of the 25 per cent of the equestrian statues for which I do not currently know the exact date.
The results of my calculations are as follows: about 6 per cent of all known existing equestrian statues date from before 1850, 17 per cent from the second half of the nineteenth century, 56 per cent from the twentieth century and a surprising 21 per cent from the year 2000 onwards.
Asia accounts for more than half of the new equestrian statues since 2000, as the graph below shows. Europe’s share has diminished further, but is still substantial.
1.11.4 The riders’ gender and their position on the horse
By far the most riders are male. Only 4 per cent are female, out of which some 2.5 per cent can be attributed to Jeanne d’Arc and Lakshmibai.
Some females ride their horse side saddle, such as Queen Victoria in the UK and Queen Wilhelmina in the Netherlands, but not so Queen Elizabeth II, Jeanne d’Arc or Lakshmibai.
Some of the equestrian sculptures with female riders are most elegant and attractive, for example the Fine Lady in Banbury and Lady Godiva in Coventry, both in the UK (see Section 2.4.6) and the statue of the falconer Tatai Diana in Tata (see Section 2.8.2).
A large majority (83 per cent) of the riders have the reins in their left hand and their right hand free, with about 4 per cent of the riders the other way around. About 12 per cent of the riders have both hands on the reins, and less than 1 per cent are not holding the reins at all.
Of the riders with one hand free, about 31 per cent have nothing in that hand, 32 per cent have a weapon (varying from a sword or sabre to a pistol or rifle), 15 per cent a symbol of authority (a sceptre, field marshal’s baton or similar), 9 per cent headwear, such as a (cocked) hat, 4 per cent a flag or banner, 2 per cent a telescope or binoculars, 2 per cent a scroll and the remaining 5 per cent all manner of other things, such as a book, a bible, a falcon, hawk or pigeon, a globe or an olive branch.
No less than 39 per cent of the riders with one hand free have their arm stretched out like Marcus Aurelius, 25 per cent somewhat lower and 14 per cent let their arm hang or have their hand on one thigh. Some 16 per cent of the riders are holding their arm up. The remaining 6 per cent have their hand on the withers of the horse or in another position.
In absolute numbers, the position of the rider with their right arm stretched out in the manner of Marcus Aurelius, with nothing in their hand, ranks first and the same position with a weapon in the hand, second.
1.11.5 Horse gaits
Almost half (48 per cent) of the horses are walking in a more or less relaxed way. This gives some, but not much, dynamism to the statue.
Some 14 per cent of the horses are reined in (6 per cent in a walking movement and the other 8 per cent standing still). This gives a more dynamic picture.
The most restful position is a standing horse with all hooves on the ground. This position accounts for 22 per cent of the horses.
Overall, 13 per cent of the horses are rearing, 10 per cent using an additional point of support (in most instances the tail) and 3 per cent just on their hind legs.
The remaining 3 per cent are shown falling, backing, galloping, springing or trotting.
This is the combination of the most frequently occurring position of both rider and horse: a walking horse with a rider in the Marcus Aurelius pose, in this case Greene by Henry Kirke Brown (1877) in Washington DC