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The Upper Two Pictish Horsemen on the Rear of Pictish Stone from St Madoes Churchyard, Scotland, 9th Century
St Madoes Churchyard, Cross-slab
Stone type: sandstone
Place of discovery: NO 1966 2119
Present location: Perth Museum & Art Gallery.
Evidence for discovery: recorded in the 1830s lying flat in the churchyard at St Madoes by James Skene, and set upright in a new stone base at the instigation of T S Muir in 1853. In the 1920s it was moved, in its base, to stand against the wall beside the church door. In the 1990s it was taken to Perth Museum & Art Gallery.
Present condition: battered and worn but largely intact.
Description
Face C is carved with three horsemen and three Pictish symbols, each in its own sunken panel, one above the other except for two symbol panels side by side. The horses and their riders are very similar but not identical, and each faces left. Despite the detailed treatment of reins and circular harness fittings, the proportions of the horses are poorly drawn. The topmost horse has a cropped tail. Each rider is seated on a saddle cloth and is wearing a short hooded cloak, apparently unarmed. There is an unidentifiable object beneath the head of the middle horse. Below the horsemen are two panels defined by roll mouldings, that on the left containing an ornamented crescent and V-rod and that on the right a largely defaced but elaborate double disc and Z-rod. The final panel below contains a lumpish Pictish beast facing left.
Date: ninth century.
Source: Canmore 28201
