Sculpture of Hercules. Rome, end of the second century AD. Marble. Measures: 175 cm high. Base: 60 cm long, 42 cm wide and 9 cm high.

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Archaeology, Session I

By Setdart Auction House

Dec 22, 2021

Set Reminder 2021-12-22 08:30:00 2021-12-22 08:30:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : Archaeology, Session I https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/setdart-auction-house/archaeology-session-i-8050
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• Lot Description
  Sculpture of Hercules. Rome, end of the second century AD. Marble. Measures: 175 cm high. Base: 60 cm long, 42 cm wide and 9 cm high. Provenance: - In the gardens of the Letcombe Manor estate, Wantage, Oxford (UK), before 1933. - Owned by the Honourable Eileen Sybil Mary Nelson Hood (1910 ? 1936), sister of the 3rd Viscount Bridport, and her husband Mr. David Lawrence Baker, first son of Charles J. Baker, of Letcombe Manor, Wantage, Oxford (UK). - Rediscovered in 1982 at the bottom of the ornamental lake of the Letcombe Manor estate, when its waters were drained. The statue of Hercules was thrown into the lake in 1935 by Hon. Eileen Sybil Mary Nelson as she considered it an "affront to public decency". - Auctioned at Phillip's, London, to raise funds for the Food and Agricultural Research Council, catalog cover. Year 1985. - Purchased at Phillip's by Royal-Athena Galleries, New York. - Purchased at Royal-Athena Galleries, New York, by Mr. John Werner Kluge (1914- 2010). - Property of Columbia University, donated by the previous owner. - Private collection G. Tomasso, Leeds, England. Publications and references: - Phillips Blenstock House. Sculpture & Works of Art. Tuesday, November 26, 1985. London. Lot 101. In press: Reading Evening Post, Wednesday 27 November 1985, pages 1 and 2. In press: Illustrated London News. Friday, November 1, 1985, p. 14. - Country Life, volume 179, p. 127. 1986. -DAVISON, Steve. Walking in the Thames Valley. Cicerone Press. 2008. Imposing life-size sculpture of Hercules, carved from a single block of marble, worked in round bulk on all sides. Given its size, as well as its proportions, it would have been placed on a pedestal, allowing it to be observed in height and from any angle. Hercules, mythological hero par excellence, worked and fought in all his adventures using physical strength and cunning (his main attributes), as well as courage, pride, a certain candor and a formidable sexual vigor. Identifying the hero of this sculpture, it is worth mentioning the skin of the feline that he carries on his shoulder, which is none other than that of the Lion of Nemea, a powerful animal that he strangled with his own hands, and which he stripped of its skin, in his first work. From then on, he would wear it as a cape as a sign of his strength and achievements, being his main attribute. This sculpture is a clear example of the popularity and importance of his effigy in Roman society. It presents the hero upright, completely naked, in what appears to be a forced position. While most of the large sculptures that can be seen in museums present the young god in a standing position, or as an adult in the Farnese typology, there are few occasions, outside of Renaissance and Baroque examples, where the hero is presented undertaking one of his labors and, therefore, fighting. This sculpture is likely to fit one of these, as the twisting of the torso backwards and to the right suggests that he is bringing his right arm backwards to gain strength, aided by the left, which would be forward to maintain balance and achieve counterweight. He needs the momentum to be able to strike an enemy with the nail, his characteristic mace, from behind and above to the front and below. It is a free-standing sculpture, consisting only of his figure, without his opponent or enemy. It shows the mature hero, his face gives him away, but at the same time in perfect physical shape. It is, without further ado, a sculpture of admiration, because until the end of Antiquity the figure of Hercules was a symbol of imperial power, both political and spiritual, since the weight he bore resembles that which the pagan leaders and, later, the Christians had to bear. Our sculpture has parallels with other important specimens housed in international museums, such as the Hercules from the Villa Andriana in Tivoli (now in the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles). Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles), the Hercules from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Farnese Hercules found in 1546 in the Baths of Caracalla in Rome (now in the Museo Archeologico Nazionale in Naples), the Hercules as slayer of the Hydra of Lerna (in the Musei Capitolini in Rome) or the Hercules from Rome (now in the North Carolina Museum of Art in Raleigh).
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