A Roman marble torso of a man
130W
A Roman marble male torso
Circa 1st-2nd Century A.D.
Probably depicting a young Herakles, the nude figure standing in contrapposto, with the weight on his right leg, his left leg relaxed with his hips tilted to the right, the torso with pronounced musculature including strongly-defined pectorals, epigastric arch, abdominal muscles and iliac crests, with well-formed buttocks and a muscular back, 26in (66cm) high, mounted
Sold for £145,250 inc. premium

Footnotes

  • Provenance:
    American private collection, acquired at the Armory Show, New York in 2005.
    With Axel Vervoordt.
    French private collection formed prior to 1970.

    Literature:
    The highly stylised musculature of this torso is unusual and indicates that it depicts a young Herakles. The closest parallel appears to be the Albertini Herakles type characterised by the Albertini/Pitti Herakles example in the Museo Nazionale, Rome. cf. O. Palagia, Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae, vol. IV, 1988, p. 792, no. 288.

    According to Pelagia, the Classical Greek original for the Albertini/Pitti Herakles is thought to have been a work of the early 4th Century B.C. created in Southern Italy - both this type and other depictions of the hero from the same period were widely copied throughout the Republic and Empire.

    For a Herakles with closely-related stance where the hero leans on his club propped under his right arm, cf. LIMC, no. 668.

Category: Antiquities

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