ITALIAN, LATE 15TH OR EARLY 16TH CENTURY

Details

A BRONZE FIGURE OF HERCULES HOLDING THE APPLES OF THE HESPERIDES
Italian, late 15th or early 16th Century
On a later cylindrical ebonised wood socle; the underside of the socle with a paper label inscribed with the letter 'A' in a diamond.
Dark brown patina; minor chips to the socle.
7¾ in. (19.7 cm.) high, the figure
10¾ in. (27.3 cm.) high, overall

Literature

COMPARATIVE LITERATURE:
W. Bode, The Italian Bronze Statuettes of the Renaissance, edit. and rev. by J. Draper, New York, 1980, p. 97, pl. C.

Special notice

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 17.5% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.

Lot Essay

This bronze figure, which is based upon the antique marble known as the Farnese Hercules, is a variant of a bronze which exists in the Victoria and Albert Museum (illustrated in Bode, loc.cit.). Both bronzes exhibit the same general proportions and size, as well as the distinctive grape vine wreath and two ribbons trailing across Hercules' shoulders. The differences lie in a few specific areas such as a subtle variation in the positioning of the legs, the depiction of the club - which lacks the knotty surface of the Victoria and Albert example - and the fact that the latter figure is cast integrally with a triangular base. The small scale, rather elongated proportions, and the unworked quality of the surface are all typical of very early Italian renaissance bronzes.

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