French, circa 1800 After a model by Giambologna (1529-1608)

Private collection, United Kingdom;
Sotheby's London, 11 December 1986, lot 72;
private collection, Spain

N. Penny, Catalogue of European Sculpture in the Ashmolean Museum 1540 to the Present Day: Volume I Italian, Oxford, 1992, p. 54
J. Warren, The Wallace Collection Catalogue of Italian Sculpture, London, 2016, vol. ii, p. 487

Overall the condition of the bronze is good, with minor dirt and wear to the surface consistent with age. There is rubbing to the patina at the high points, and notably to Hercules' torso, legs, and buttocks. There are two original casting patches to Hercules' upper back. A few original casting plugs are slightly visible, including to the proper right foot, hip and abdomen, and the proper right elbow. The bronze is cast in sections, and joints are slightly visible, including to the proper right upper arm, the proper left shoulder, and where the boar joins the man's head (with a lacuna). The club is also cast separately. There are several minor nicks and scratches , including to the man's back on the proper right side, the calves, and the proper right elbow, and there is a small dent to the man's proper left elbow. There appears to be a small loss to the boar's proper right hind hoof. The condition of the marble base is very good, with some slightly open but stable veining consistent with the material. There is a small area with fill to the upper edge of the lower tier on the man's proper left side. There are some very light abrasions to the bottom edge, and the underside is covered with felt.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The Hercules and the Erymanthian Boar is one of Giambologna's rarer models, with Jeremy Warren listing only 22 casts (op. cit, p. 487). The bronze represents the fourth of Hercules' Labours, in which he saved the people living around Mount Erymanthus from a monstrous boar. Giambologna created the model as part of Grand Duke Francesco I de' Medici's commission for six silver sculptures depicting the Labours. The silver version was cast in 1577 and sadly no longer survives. However, a bronze version commissioned for Rudolph II, and which potentially predates the silver cast, exists in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna (inv. no. KK 5846). In his 1992 catalogue of the Ashmolean Museum, Nicholas Penny argued that the present bronze and many other versions of the model are likely to be 19th-century sand casts. This theory has recently been questioned by Warren (op. cit., p. 484), who has suggested that at least some of the casts discussed by Penny are earlier, since additional provenance has subsequently been established for several examples. The present cast exhibits very fine details, such as the boar's fur, which accord with quality sand casts. The old plugs and repairs nonetheless indicate that the bronze was produced in the late 18th or early 19th century. The attractive reddish patina led the Sotheby's cataloguer in 1986 to describe the bronze as Florentine, but a French origin seems more likely since the sand casting technique was pioneered by Parisian foundries.

RELATED LITERATURE
B. P. Strozzi and D. Zikos, Giambologna: gli dei, gli eroi, exh. cat. Museo Nazionale del Bargello, Florence, pp. 180-181, no. 12