A mounted tompion crest from the Colossus-class dreadnought battleship HMS Hercules (Launched in 1910).
The crest would have originally been mounted on a brass or wooden disc, used to cover a 12 inch gun muzzle from adverse weather.
The piece is, we believe, of cast iron in the form of the figure of the Greek God Hercules, seen standing with club in hand.
It has been mounted, free-standing on a white marble base.
*Dimensions*
The bronze figure alone measures 15cm (6 inches) by 24cm (9 ½ inches) tall.
The figure upon mount stands at 26.5cm (10 ½ inches) and weighs 2.01 Kg.
*Condition*
There are a couple of marks to the right thigh of Hercules, a mark to his chest and some wear to his nose but otherwise the crest is in a very nice condition with only light age wear and no damages.
It has a lean (as you can see in the images) but this is due to the unevenness of the lower edge of the crest and the way in which it was mounted to the base rather than any problems with the crest itself.
The marble base has some nibbling along the edges but no major damage.
RMSBEOX