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USA Domestic: 12/14 for Standard; 12/23 for Express; International: 12/7 for Standard; 12/19 for ExpressRoman, Imperial Period, ca. 1st to 3rd century CE. A solid cast-bronze statuette depicting Hercules (Greek Herakles, Heracles) standing in quintessential contrapposto pose, with a lion's skin draped over his left shoulder, his left raised above his head, and his right arm by his side. In his right hand he holds a torch, while the left fist is clenched as if it once held an attribute. The hero's visage is finely delineated with a focused expression, wavy coiffure, and full beard. A marvelous rendering of Hercules displaying the ancient artist's strong interest in delineating physiognomy and movement of Hercules' heroic yet human form. Size: 3.125" H (7.9 cm); 5.625" H (14.3 cm) on included custom stand.
The iconography of this bronze references the legendary hero's first labor when King Eurystheus asked Hercules to bring him the skin of a fierce lion that terrorized the hillside around Nemea - a seemingly impossible task. Despite the fact that initially Hercules' arrows were utterly useless against this threatening beast, our hero ultimately succeeded, clutching the lion in his muscular arms all the while strategically avoiding its claws, finally choking it to death. The story of Hercules was a popular one in ancient Rome (with much of it derived, as so many elements of Roman culture were, from Greece - entering Roman culture by way of Etruria). Both Mark Antony and the Emperor Commodus considered him to be a personal patron god. A good example of an Attic piece is a bilingual amphora in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, depicts Hercules wearing the lion skin (99.538) as described by Euripedes, "First he cleared the grove of Zeus of a lion, and put its skin upon his back, hiding his yellow hair in its fearful tawny gaping jaws." (Euripedes, Hercules, 359).
Provenance: private Florida, USA collection, purchased in 1995 from Avraham Rosen, New York, New York, USA
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#146415
Condition
Missing attribute held in his left hand which was most likely cast separately. Normal age wear but the details are remarkably vivid. Gorgeous green patina has developed over the ages.