Rare Roman Silver Statue of Hercules- Lot 38, Auction 8/2/2018
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Rare Roman Silver Statue of Hercules- Lot 38, Auction 8/2/2018

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Roman, Imperial Period, ca. 1st to 3rd century CE. A finely cast solid silver nude male figure of a youthful, muscular Hercules (Greek equivalent Heracles and Herakles). The mythical hero’s expressive visage presents wide open eyes, an aquiline nose, pursed lips, and a wavy coiffure framing his face. He stands in a dynamic contrapposto pose, his weight shifted to his left leg and his right leg advancing, his right arm raised, and his left arm draped with the skin of the Nemean lion and outstretched with his hand holding a weapon. Roman art from this period shows the clear influence of Classical Greek models, with fluid poses and a desire to present naturalistic features. In this example, the solid cast silver figure stands upon a hollow-cast pedestal. The piece is composed from a very fine silver – 97% to be precise – making it higher than sterling grade. Size: 4.375″ H (11.1 cm)

The iconography of this sculpture 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, and finally choking his wild feline opponent 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.

Condition: Missing right hand. Losses to walls of pedestal base as shown. Area of loss to object near his right foot. Expected age wear, but still a very strong and rare piece.

Provenance: private California, USA collection

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