Choice of Hercules by Paolo de Matteis

Acquisition at auction of, Paolo de Matteis (1662-1728) painting 'The Choice of Hercules' painted for the Third Earl of Shaftesbury in Naples in 1712. Reframed circa 1765 in a spectacular English rococo frame in the manner of Henry Flitcroft. The painting hung in St Giles House in Dorset until it was put up for auction in June 1980.