Greek Bronze Bracelet with Animal Heads

Dynamic scene of two nude wrestlers, the giant Antaeus and Hercules, Hercules lifting Antaeus off the ground with his arms, while Antaeus is trying to pry his arms open to regain contact with Mother Earth, which would restore his strength; set on a custom-made display stand. 1.01 kg total, 20.3 cm high including stand



Mallams Oxford. From a UK private collection since the 1970s. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.13333-258242.

Here, the giant Antaeus is depicted with the more common dimensions of the hero, Hercules. Antaeus was a giant, the son of Neptune and Gaia. Antaeus would challenge all passers-by to wrestling matches and remained invincible as long as he remained in contact with his mother, the Earth. As in Greek wrestling, like its modern equivalent, he typically attempted to force opponents to the ground, and he always won, killing them. He built a temple to his father using the skulls of his defeated opponents. Antaeus fought Hercules as he was on his way to the Garden of Hesperides as his Eleventh Labour. Hercules realised that he could not beat Antaeus by throwing or pinning him. Instead, he held him aloft and then crushed him to death in a bear hug. The scene is famously depicted on a Greek krater dating to the sixth century BC and now in the Louvre, and was a popular subject for Renaissance artists. The episode in which Hercules defeats Antaeus is mentioned in Ovid's Metamorphoses.

With a slender hoop and an oval bezel with a galloping centaur facing back with his arms raised. 3.40 grams, 22.48 mm overall, 18.34 mm internal diameter (approximate size British Q, USA 8, Europe 17.49, Japan 16)



Ex German art market, 2000s. Acquired from an EU collector living in London. From the collection of a Surrey, UK, gentleman.

Formed as a horse with a tall neck and splayed legs, a bearded rider figure to the rear; a marriage. 95 grams, 10.7 cm



From the collection of a Cambridge, UK, gentleman, by direct descent from his father, who acquired the items in London in circa 1960.