Hercules and Diomedes Reproduction de Rossi Statue Figurine
Product Description
H: 13" Cold Cast Marble-like Resin
"Hercules and Diomedes" (1550) is one of six in a group of statues by Baroque sculptor Vincenzo de Rossi, located in the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence.
Hercules is the Roman name for the mythical Greek demigod Heracles, son of Zeus and the mortal Alcmena. Hercules can be identified by his attributes, the lion skin and the club; in mosaics he is shown tanned black.
While he was a champion and a great warrior, he was not above cheating and using any unfair trick to his advantage. However, he was renowned as having "made the world safe for mankind" by destroying many dangerous monsters. His self-sacrifice obtained him the ascent to the Olympian realms and he was welcomed by the gods.
In ancient times, Diomedes, the King of Thrace, kept four man-eating horses in his stables. These foul beasts were not naturally carnivorous... Diomedes spent eight long years training them to prefer flesh to oats. Diomedes used these horses to torture his political enemies. Hercules, with the help of his best friend Abderus stole the horses at night. Heracles left his friend alone with the horses and the beasts quickly devoured Abderus. Hercules was so distraught over the death of his friend that he fed Diomedes to his own horses as poetic revenge.
As you can see, Diomedes does not want to be thrown to the horses and will grab onto anything he can reach to hold on :)
The quality of the casting of this figurine is excellent, with good detail, and the cold cast resin has a natural sheen and weight and will blend well with authentic and more expensive antique pieces.
(some information adapted from Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia)
"Hercules and Diomedes" (1550) is one of six in a group of statues by Baroque sculptor Vincenzo de Rossi, located in the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence.
Hercules is the Roman name for the mythical Greek demigod Heracles, son of Zeus and the mortal Alcmena. Hercules can be identified by his attributes, the lion skin and the club; in mosaics he is shown tanned black.
While he was a champion and a great warrior, he was not above cheating and using any unfair trick to his advantage. However, he was renowned as having "made the world safe for mankind" by destroying many dangerous monsters. His self-sacrifice obtained him the ascent to the Olympian realms and he was welcomed by the gods.
In ancient times, Diomedes, the King of Thrace, kept four man-eating horses in his stables. These foul beasts were not naturally carnivorous... Diomedes spent eight long years training them to prefer flesh to oats. Diomedes used these horses to torture his political enemies. Hercules, with the help of his best friend Abderus stole the horses at night. Heracles left his friend alone with the horses and the beasts quickly devoured Abderus. Hercules was so distraught over the death of his friend that he fed Diomedes to his own horses as poetic revenge.
As you can see, Diomedes does not want to be thrown to the horses and will grab onto anything he can reach to hold on :)
The quality of the casting of this figurine is excellent, with good detail, and the cold cast resin has a natural sheen and weight and will blend well with authentic and more expensive antique pieces.
(some information adapted from Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia)