Weary Herakles ("Herakles Farnese" type)
mid- to late 2nd century A.D.
Medium/TechniqueMarble, probably from Paros or Aphrodisias
DimensionsOverall: 67 cm (26 3/8 in.)
Credit LineGift of Leon Levy and Shelby White and Museum purchase with funds donated by the Jerome Levy Foundation
Accession number1981.783
On View
Not on viewClassificationsSculpture
Collections
Provenance1981, Mohammad Yeganeh, Frankfurt [see note 1]; 1981, sold by Yeganeh to the MFA (half-interest) and Leon Levy and Shelby White, New York (half-interest) [see note 2]; 2004, remaining half-interest given by Shelby White to the MFA; September 22, 2011, deaccessioned by the MFA for transfer to the Republic of Turkey [see note 3].
NOTES:
[1] According to information provided by Mr. Yeganeh, the sculpture belonged to his mother in Iran, who had acquired it around 1950 from a German dealer. He suggested the German dealer acquired it from a European private collection after World War II. This account has never been verified.
[2] MFA accession date: December 31, 1981.
[3] In 1990, a scholar noted the similarity of the MFA sculpture--which shows the torso and head of Herakles--to the bottom half of a Herakles statue that had been excavated in 1980 in Perge, Turkey (held by the Antalya Museum, Turkey). Shortly thereafter, the Turkish government claimed ownership of the MFA sculpture and requested its return.
In 1992, casts were made of the two sculptures, and it was determined that they fit together and must have been created as one sculpture. The MFA and Turkey have been in active discussions since that time regarding how the two pieces might be reunited. After the MFA received full interest in its part of the sculpture in 2004, discussions resumed regarding a resolution. On September 22, 2011, an agreement was signed by the Republic of Turkey and the Museum of Fine Arts transferring full ownership of the upper part of the sculpture to Turkey.
For further information, please see: http://www.mfa.org/collections/provenance/antiquities-and-cultural-property/weary-herakles
NOTES:
[1] According to information provided by Mr. Yeganeh, the sculpture belonged to his mother in Iran, who had acquired it around 1950 from a German dealer. He suggested the German dealer acquired it from a European private collection after World War II. This account has never been verified.
[2] MFA accession date: December 31, 1981.
[3] In 1990, a scholar noted the similarity of the MFA sculpture--which shows the torso and head of Herakles--to the bottom half of a Herakles statue that had been excavated in 1980 in Perge, Turkey (held by the Antalya Museum, Turkey). Shortly thereafter, the Turkish government claimed ownership of the MFA sculpture and requested its return.
In 1992, casts were made of the two sculptures, and it was determined that they fit together and must have been created as one sculpture. The MFA and Turkey have been in active discussions since that time regarding how the two pieces might be reunited. After the MFA received full interest in its part of the sculpture in 2004, discussions resumed regarding a resolution. On September 22, 2011, an agreement was signed by the Republic of Turkey and the Museum of Fine Arts transferring full ownership of the upper part of the sculpture to Turkey.
For further information, please see: http://www.mfa.org/collections/provenance/antiquities-and-cultural-property/weary-herakles
A.D. 117–38
530–515 B.C.
First half of the 6th century CE
about A.D. 100
late 1st–early 2nd century CE
1st century B.C. or 1st century A.D.
150–100 B.C.
about 560–550 B.C.
about 480 B.C.
about 470–450 B.C.
late 5th century B.C.