Roman gilt bronze protome example of the lost-wax method of casting in the 1st-3rd centuries

by Mary Harrsch © 2026

Just looking through my photographs of objects at the Legion of Honor Museum in San Francisco that I took back in 2006 and saw this Roman horse protome dated from the 1st-3rd centuries CE. It was a gift from a private collector back in 1952 so I'm afraid no provenance was recorded. Sadly, it is no longer on display there.

Roman gilt bronze protome of a horse or hippocamp, 1st-3rd century CE, Legion of Honor Museum of Art, San Francisco, CA. Photo by the author.

The object appears to be cast bronze with a gold surface, most likely fire (mercury) gilding, in which a gold–mercury amalgam is applied to the metal and the mercury driven off by heating. Where the gilding survives it stands out sharply against the green corrosion products of the copper alloy, which accounts for the mottled gold-and-verdigris appearance. Casting by the lost-wax method is probable, with chasing and tooling visible in the mane locks. Roman bronze protomes of this kind survive as fittings for couches and beds, for carts and carriages (as yoke or pole terminals), for harness and parade equipment, and for small-scale furniture and shrine decoration.

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