While the camel may have carried civilization, the horse conquered it. On the back of this noble beast, wars were lost and won, brides were delivered to royal weddings and the words of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) were spread. On its swift feet, the strong pushed past the village and created the nation. The role of the horse in history is the focus of “A Gift from the Desert: The Art, History and Culture of the Arabian Horse,” an exhibit at The Kentucky Horse Park's International Museum of the Horse in Lexington, which runs through Oct. 15. The exhibit is sponsored by The Saudi Arabian Equestrian Federation, which is headed by Prince Faisal Bin Abdullah Bin Muhammad and Prince Nawaf Bin Faisal Bin Fahd. According to Prince Nawaf, his grandfather was the last of the knights who united the country on horseback. “We wanted to show our long-term and warm relationship with the US outside of political frames. Lexington chose itself as the spot for our exhibit with is history of the horse,” he explained. In September, Lexington will host the World Equestrian Games, the first time the event will be held outside of Europe. Many of the 408 works in the exhibit have never been displayed outside of Saudi Arabia, or the 19 countries which contributed to the landmark study of a single animal on human history. Treasures include the 4,500-year-old Standard of Ur, with only its second visit outside of the British Museum in London since its discovery in the 1920s. The ancient piece is remarkably vivid with bright blue and red colors. A gold headband, also from Ur, which bears the earliest depictions of horseback riding from 2600 BCE is also on display, along with bas-reliefs dating from the time of the Pharaoh Akhenaten. A gold chariot horse from the Oxus Treasure, a hoard of 180 gold and silver items from Tajikistan, dates to the 5th century BCE. Paintings encompass Orientalist pieces from Delacroix, and Adolph Schreyer to modern sports artist Andre Pater. Jeweled bridles and daggers, ancient embroidered saddle blankets, pottery, glassware and ancient texts paint a complete picture of cultural influence. At All Souls College in England, museum director Bill Cooke found the small Hittite horse and rider terra cotta figurine that once adorned the rooms of author and adventurer T.E. Lawrence, or Lawrence of Arabia. Within minutes the college agreed to display the art in Kentucky. Lawrence's robes, ring and dagger are also displayed. The Hittite piece dates to 2300 BCE. The curators combed the world for nearly three years searching for art that visually captured the history of the Arabian horse.
