ceramics, white, glazed, at the centre Hercules with his wife Deianira in an embrace, in front of him Nessus reclining, the left hand is raised, at side encamped the personification of the river Sebeto, emptying water from an amphora, a companion at his side is embracing him and indicating the lovers, oval rock plinth, height 36 cm, length 41 cm, minor restored areas, Naples, Real Fabbrica Ferdinandea, late 18th century, impressed N mark with jags and crown hoop (barely legible) (Ru)

The identical group HERACLES DEIANEIRA AND NESSUS is located at the Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. for the Coralie Walker Hanna Memorial Collection 1939.192; In 1771, Ferdinand IV, son of Charles III, erected a porcelain factory at the Villa di Portici in Naples, it was moved into the Royal palace in 1773 and flourished there until 1806. Artistic production was shaped by Antique research. Directors were in 1772-1781 Tommaso Perez, who was from Spain, and after his death Domenico Venuti. In 1806, the factory temporarily halted its production due to French occupation.

Lit.:
Dankert, Munich 1954, p. 321, Naples, mark no. 3, impressed;

Lit.:
Graesse, Munich 1986, p. 634, Naples 1771-1834, mark no. 3 impressed, p. 801, Bildregister der Porzellanmarken, Naples 634 impressed; Heracles, is a hero from Greek mythology who completed his twelve labours and then moved to Trachis with his second wife Deianira, where an unintended error of Deianira’s causes him to suffer a terrible death, which Heracles ended by self-incineration. Deianira, a Greek mythological figure, was the wife of Heracles, who died in agony after she offered to perform a supposed love spell on him by handing him a shirt coated with the blood of Nessus, whom Heracles had previously slain. Neptune, the god of freshwater and the sea, is the Roman counterpart of the Greek sea god Poseidon.