Statue of Greek God Hermes Stolen from Estate

A bronze statue of the ancient Greek god Hermes has been stolen from an Elizabethan stately home in Northampton, England. Before the theft, it had decorated a pond for more than 10 years.

The sculpture of the deity Hermes has adorned a pond in the grounds of Holdenby House near Northampton for more than a century and is believed to have been stolen between 11:00 pm BST on Monday and 8.30 am on Tuesday.

“His theft is almost unbearable for us, and everyone at Holdenby, and we are praying for his return,” estate owner James Lowther told the BBC. It is believed the thieves gained access to the property via a main road, with a vehicle.

Bronze statue of Greek god stolen from estate https://t.co/YBMj8OzOR5

— BBC Northamptonshire (@BBCNorthampton) May 2, 2024

Mr Lowther continued “Mercury (the Roman name for the Greek god Hermes) has been such an important icon for Holdenby and something I have loved since I was a child. It is heart-breaking to see this much-loved piece of public art so crudely and cruelly cut from his pedestal.”

Adding “Those who stole him saw only a piece of metal that could be absconded with for private profit. We live in hope that he will be returned home and urge anyone with information to come forward.”

A spokesperson for the estate told the BBC the statue was “an important copy of the famous Seated Hermes, excavated from Herculaneum in 1758.” Adding that “His theft is a loss not only of an important historic work of art, but of a landmark feature much loved by the family, the community and Holdenby’s visitors.”

A Northamptonshire Police spokesperson said: “Officers are now appealing for anyone who saw anything suspicious in the area during the stated times, or who has any information about the theft, to get in touch.”

The Original Hermes Statue

The bronze seated Hermes found at the Villa of Papyri in Herculaneum in 1758, is at the National Archaeological Museum of Naples. It was likely the most celebrated work of art discovered at Herculaneum and Pompeii in the 18th century, after four large engravings reproducing it had appeared in Le Antichita di Ercolano, 1771.

To protect the Hermes statue from Napoleonic depredations, it was packed into one of the 52 cases of antiquities and works of art that accompanied the Bourbon flight to Palermo in 1798. It was once again in the royal villa at Portici in 1816.

It is thought by some experts that the statue is a Roman copy, made before 79 AD, of a Greek bronze original of the late fourth or early third century BC, in the tradition of Lysippos, whose name had been invoked in connection with the sculpture since its first reappearance.

Many bronze statues posed on actual rocks must have been set up in late Hellenistic and Roman gardens, where, some academics suggest, natural boulders increased the idyllic aspect of the composition. Hermes rests his hand casually on the (restored) rock, integrating the composition.