LOT 0117

Roman Marble Head of Hercules

2ND CENTURY AD

11 3/4" (7.1 kg, 30cm including stand).

A marble head of Hercules (Greek Herakles), gently bowed and turned slightly to the left; curled unruly hair and long wavy beard; deep inset eyes and prominent bow, mouth slightly open; mounted on a custom-made stand.

Property of a gentleman; from a Mayfair, London, UK, gallery; formerly in the Bastan collection; previously with Schopmann, Hamburg, Germany, 18 April 2008; accompanied by a copy of the paid purchase invoice for 19,808.00 euros.

Cf. Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession number 27.122.18 for another Roman copy of the Lysippos Herakles.

This statue head is one of many Roman copies of a Greek statue attributed to Lysippos which depicts Herakles wearied at the end of the twelve labours set for him by Eurystheus, ruler of the Argolid. The original sculpture was cast in bronze by the famous sculptor Lysippos during the Hellenistic period and was subsequently copied in various scales and mediums. It depicts Herakles leaning on his club, holding the apples of the Hesperides behind his back, his head lowered with a fatigued expression.