Ancient Sculpture and Works of Art
Ancient Sculpture and Works of Art
Property from the Schickler-Pourtalès Collection, Château de Martinvast
AN ITALIAN MARBLE HEAD OF HERAKLES, EARLY 17TH CENTURY
Auction Closed
July 2, 04:42 PM GMT
Estimate
10,000 - 15,000 GBP
Lot Details
Description
Property from the Schickler-Pourtalès Collection, Château de Martinvast
AN ITALIAN MARBLE HEAD OF HERAKLES, EARLY 17TH CENTURY
turned to his right, with prominent brow and chin, sideburns, and short hair surmounted by the head of a lion skin, the mane flowing in long wavy locks over the back; nose and upper lip restored.
Height 36 cm.
Cardinal Alessandro Peretti di Montalto (1571-1623), Villa Montalto, Rome
Château de Martinvast, France, probably acquired by baron Arthur de Schickler (1828-1919)
by descent to the present owners
Recorded
Drawing, Codex Montalto, 1615/55, fol. 26 (Anna Seidel, Der Codex Montalto, Mainz, 2016, p. 102, fol. 26, illus.).
Inventory of the Villa Montalto, 1623/31 (M. Barberini, in: E. Debenedetti, ed., Collezionismo e ideologia. Mecenati, artisti e teorici dal classico al neoclassico, 1991, p. 42: "Una statua di Ercole giouane con pomi, mazza e pelle di Leone p.mi 9")
With the help of a drawing in the Codex Montalto, this head can be identified as the former restoration of an ancient torso of Herakles from the Montalto collection. The current whereabouts of this torso are unknown. The present head appears to be an imitation of a head in the Louvre, the "Mithridates": R. Smith, Hellenistic Royal Portraits, 1988, p. 171, no. 83, pl. 52,1-2.