Roman Bronze Statuette of Hercules

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Ancient | Ethnographic | Fine Art

By Artemis Gallery

Jul 5, 2018

Set Reminder 2018-07-05 10:00:00 2018-07-05 10:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : Ancient | Ethnographic | Fine Art https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/artemis-gallery/ancient-ethnographic-fine-art-3306
Featuring classical antiquities, ancient and ethnographic art from cultures encompassing the globe. Artemis Gallery info@artemisgallery.com

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• Lot Description
  Roman, Imperial Period, ca. 1st to 3rd century CE. A solid cast-bronze statuette depicting Hercules (Greek Herakles, Heracles) standing in quintessential contrapposto pose atop a conical base, with a lion's skin draped over his left shoulder, his right arm extended outwards and his left raised above his head. 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. A marvelous rendering of Hercules displaying the ancient artist's strong interest in delineating physiognomy and movement of Hercules' heroic yet human form. Size: 1.625" W x 3.25" H (4.1 cm x 8.3 cm).
  
  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 Davis collection, Houston, Texas, USA; ex-private United Kingdom collection, acquired on the London art market in the 1980s
  
  All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.
  
  A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids.
  
  We ship worldwide and handle all shipping in-house for your convenience.
  
  #132829

  Condition

  Figure reattached at feet to base with light adhesive residue along break lines. Surface wear commensurate with age, fading to facial and body features, with small nicks to base and head, otherwise excellent. Light earthen deposits within some recessed areas, and lovely dark-green and dark-brown patina throughout.
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