WHILE equestrian statues are probably the most ubiquitous of all public monuments in Western towns and cities, their aesthetics are predictably formulaic.

Three or four standard formats are replicated ad nauseam and most are offensive examples of wars waged by the rapacious elites of any given country.

Roman emperor-philosopher Marcus Aurelius, whose 2,000-year-old equestrian statue is the oldest complete one in existence, is without armour or weapons as befits a supposed bringer of peace.