Carl Gustav Hermann GLADENBECK (1827-1918) (foundry active 1851-1926), Gladiator Borghese

AGASIAS from the EFFEZ - by.
bronze, marble; height: 50.5 cm; base: 37.7 x 23.5 cm.
Germany, Berlin, 1st quarter of the 20th century.
Figure of a naked warrior, leaning forward in readiness to deliver a blow. Rectangular base, on a plinth of black marble. On the top of the base the foundry's signature: "Akt.-Ges. "H. Gladenbeck" Berlin."
Reduction of an ancient marble sculpture attributed to the Hellenistic artist Agasias of Ephesus, found in 1611 in Italy and acquired and kept by Cardinal Borghese in his palace in Rome (hence its name "Gladiator [or Fencer] Borghese"). Purchased in 1807 by Napoleon - it was eventually placed in the Louvre collection in Paris. The original sculpture was preserved without hands; reconstructions assume that the warrior held a sword in his right hand and a shield in his left.