55 - Jacob Sigisbert ADAM (1670–1747) and his Workshop

Jacob Sigisbert ADAM (1670–1747) and his Workshop France, first quarter of the 18th century Hector and Achilles Pair of half-life-size terracotta busts; height: 28.5 cm and 28 cm; width: 21.5 cm and 19 cm. Mounted on blackened wooden pedestals, height: 17.5 cm. (Restorations to the rim of Hector’s helmet; retouching on Achilles’ right cheek; missing pieces on the back of the busts.) This beautiful pair of terracotta busts depicting Hector and Achilles, two of the principal heroes of the Trojan War, can be attributed to Jacob Sigisbert Adam (1670–1747) and his workshop. A founding figure of the famous dynasty of Lorraine sculptors based in Nancy, Jacob Sigisbert Adam distinguished himself during the reigns of Louis XIV and Louis XV. Appointed in 1698 as the official sculptor to Duke Leopold of Lorraine, he pursued a particularly diverse body of work, in which small-scale models played a significant role. The exhibition dedicated to the Adams, organized by P.-H. Penet and G. Scherf at the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Nancy in 2021–2022, helped shed light on the Adams’ extensive body of work and establish new attributions. Our busts are part of this body of small-scale sculptures, prized by collectors and intended in particular to adorn ceremonial sideboards and banquet tables. Created in the first quarter of the 18th century, the bust of Achilles bears a resemblance to an almost identical terracotta example held at the Charles-Friry Museum in Remiremont (H. 27 cm; inv. 1147; Fig. 1 Photo credit: Jean-Yves Lacote), attributed to Jacob Sigisbert Adam and his workshop. Both works depict a figure wearing a large helmet topped with a spectacular plume of feathers. The comparison is particularly striking in the rendering of the face, the hair, and the breastplate. Two other pairs of comparable busts have appeared on the art market: the first, more elaborately crafted, from the former Volpi Collection (Sotheby’s, Paris, February 28, 2024, lot 89, sold for €48,260), and the second from the former Juan de Beistegui collection, described as Italian (Christie’s, Paris, September 10, 2018, lot 115, sold for €25,000). The existence of these three different versions attests to collectors’ enthusiasm for these depictions of ancient heroes. Hector is depicted as bearded, while Achilles, with a more youthful face, is beardless. Both heroes wear a breastplate and a drape around their shoulders, which is absent from the Remiremont example. Achilles’ breastplate, similar to that of the figure in the Volpi collection, consists of three studded bands and is adorned in the center with a grimacing mask. Hector’s, more understated, is decorated with a Gorgon’s head on the chest. Like the warrior in the Volpi collection—identified this time as Alexander the Great—Achilles wears a drape that crosses over his shoulders. Hector and Achilles: The Iconography of the Heroes of the Trojan War Son of Peleus and the Nereid Thetis, Achilles is the most illustrious of the Achaean heroes who fought in the Trojan War. Hector, the eldest son of Priam and Hecuba, is Troy’s principal defender. Their rivalry embodies two complementary aspects of ancient heroism: Achilles’ individual martial prowess and Hector’s courage rooted in his duty to city and family. In the *Iliad*, their confrontation reaches its climax after the death of Patroclus, who was killed by Hector. Returning to battle to avenge his comrade, Achilles eventually faces Hector at the gates of Troy. Deceived by Athena, who takes the form of her brother Deiphobus, Hector accepts the duel and is mortally wounded by Achilles. The death of the Trojan hero, followed by the desecration of his body, constitutes one of the most dramatic episodes of the Homeric epic. The Adams: A Dynasty of Lorrain Sculpitors Jacob Sigisbert Adam was the founder of an important 18th-century dynasty of Lorrain sculptors. Trained notably under César Bagard, he pursued a career closely linked to the ducal court of Lorraine, producing a diverse body of work in terracotta, bronze, and monumental sculpture. His studio in Nancy played an essential role in passing on artistic models and practices to his three sons, who were also sculptors: Lambert Sigisbert (1700–1759), Nicolas Sébastien (1705–1778), and François-Gaspard-Balthazar Adam (1710–1761). Trained by their father, they pursued their careers in Paris, Rome, and—in the case of François-Gaspard-Balthazar—at the Prussian court. Lambert Sigisbert and Nicolas Sébastien played a key role in promoting a style of sculpture informed by the study of antiquity and the Baroque tradition. The dynasty continued through the descendants of Anne Adam, the fourth child of Jacob Sigisbert, who married