A BRONZE FIGURE OF HERCULES SUPPORTING THE CELESTIAL GLOBE

This massive bronze, with the sturdy form of Hercules only slightly alleviated by the fluttering drapery, is close to the version attributed to Ferdinando Tacca and formerly in the French Royal collections (no. 303) and acquired in 2005 by Prince Hans-Adam II von and zu Liechtenstein for the Liechtenstein Museum in Vienna. Another version is in the collection of the late Robert Smith, Washington, D.C. The Washington version is slightly different than the present lot, as Avery notes, in the Hall version Hercules appears to be staggering under the weight of the globe as he marches along, rather than the more statuesque pose of the Washington version (Avery, op. cit., p. 60). And while the Liechtenstein and Washington versions are far more highly finished -- the Hall version does convey the impressive size and weight of a man literally supporting the heavens.