Lot 595
595
A ROMAN GILT BRONZE BUST OF HERCULES
THE PROPERTY OF AN AMERICAN PRIVATE COLLECTOR
A ROMAN GILT BRONZE BUST OF HERCULES

CIRCA 2ND CENTURY A.D.

Details
A ROMAN GILT BRONZE BUST OF HERCULES
CIRCA 2ND CENTURY A.D.
The aged deified hero depicted with a full beard of individualized curling locks, his head inclined slightly to his left and downward, with furrowed brow and deeply-set lidded eyes, the pupils articulated, heavy bags visible below the eyes, wearing an ivy wreath in his wavy hair, the ties falling on his shoulders, the bust nude, with his clavicles well defined, the shoulders and pectorals revealing his burly musculature, perforated on each shoulder, one rivet preserved
5 5/8 in. (14.2 cm.) high
Provenance
with Ariadne Gallery, New York, early 1990s.

Lot Essay

This depiction of the aged Hercules is related to the Villa Albani type, named for a Roman marble of the 2nd century A.D. in Rome. See nos. 152-153 in Palagia, "Herakles" in LIMC. For this Hercules type in bronze see fig. XVIII, p. 275 in Kozloff and Mitten, The Gods Delight, The Human Figure in Classical Bronze.

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