Object Description
A delightful Italian bronze Grand Tour model of the Temple of Hercules Victor, Rome, circa 1860 in date.
The bronze realistic model is cast in high relief with twenty Corinthian columns, standing on a stepped base of on a Sienna marble base.
In Piazza Bocca della Verità, adjacent to the Temple of Portunus, is this small circular temple, the oldest preserved marble building in Rome dedicated to Hercules Victor, protector of traders.
In 1809, when Rome was the second city of the Napoleonic Empire, the architect Giuseppe Valadier restored the temple on commission by the French government, trying to bring the structure to its original splendour.
Condition:
In excellent condition, please see photos for confirmation.
Dimensions in cm:
Height 8.8 cm x Width 9.5 cm x Depth 9.5 cm
Dimensions in inches:
Height 3 inches x Width 4 inches x Depth 4 inches
The Temple of Hercules Victor
or Hercules Olivarius is a Roman temple in Piazza Bocca della Verità, the former Forum Boarium, in Rome, Italy. It is a tholos, a round temple of Greek ‘peripteral’ design completely surrounded by a colonnade.
After land was obtained from the magistrates, Octavius dedicated a building and statue to him, in engraved letters he called him Victor. According to Macrobius, the merchant Marcus Octavius Herrenus built the temple in order to give thanks to Hercules from saving him from pirates
Our reference: A5110