This terracotta equestrian figurine, with black and red painted decoration on an ochre-brown slip, is an outstanding example of Bichrome Ware. Specific elements, such as the schematic features of the horse and the rider with the conical cap, point to its provenance from a workshop at Idalion or Salamis. Terracotta figurines of horsemen first appeared as offerings in Cypriot sanctuaries around the end of the Late Cypriot period. They were rare in the Cypro-Geometric period, but became common both as votive offerings in sanctuaries of male deities and as grave goods during the 8th c. BC. In the Cypro-Archaic period, they were among the most popular products of coroplastic art across the island. The appearance of the subject of horse and rider in Cypriot coroplastic art and vase-painting coincides with its appearance in the Near East (Assyria) and the Aegean. Near Eastern influences must have been transmitted to Cyprus during the period of Assyrian domination of the island in the late 8th-early 7th c. BC, or possibly earlier, via the Phoenicians who were living there from the 9th c. BC. It may have been a symbol of aristocratic status, since by that time the ownership and use of a horse –not only in warfare but also in daily life or in ceremonies– was a privilege of the social elite.