The life-size bronze equestrian statue of the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius in Piazza del Campidoglio in Rome, of which this bronze is a small-scale version, was one of the most admired sculptures from classical antiquity. As well as being reproduced in small versions in considerable numbers and in different media, it became the source of inspiration for monumental equestrian statues since the Renaissance. Marcus Aurelius is depicted on horseback, with his right arm held out, with the palm of his hand parallel to the floor. His horse's right front leg raised. The white marble pedestal replicates the one designed by Michelangelo, made when the statue was moved to the Capitol by Pope Paul III in 1538.