**Tác phẩm điêu khắc Samson và Hercules** were a pair of oak atlantids of the biblical character Samson and Roman hero Hercules, originally carved in 1657 and situated at Samson and Hercules House in Tombland, Norwich. The original Samson sculpture currently resides in the Museum of Norwich at the Bridewell, and the original Hercules sculpture is lost.

History
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The sculptures were originally commissioned in a pair by the Mayor of Norwich Christopher Jay in 1657, to be placed outside his new home in Tombland, Norwich. The Samson sculpture was carved from a singular oak tree trunk.

The figures were moved to the building's rear courtyard in 1789, but were placed back at the front door in 1890, by which point the original Hercules sculpture had decayed beyond repair and was replaced by a replica. From 1934 until 2003, the building operated as a dance hall and later a nightclub. The venue was named Samson and Hercules House during World War II, but later was rebranded to Ritzy's in 1983.

The fibreglass replicas of the Samson (left) and Hercules (right) sculptures, at the entrance to Samson and Hercules House in 2013
In the summer of 1992, the Samson sculpture's right arm fell off, prompting Norfolk Museums Service (NMS) to remove the sculptures. They were replaced at the venue with fibreglass replicas in 1998. These replicas were at one point painted red when the house became a lobster restaurant, and painted other colours in years since.

Conservation firm Plowden & Smith were commissioned by the NMS in 2014, and oversaw a four-year process to remove 60 layers of lead paint that had built up on the sculpture, weighing 28 kilôgam (62 lb). As well as the removal of paint, fungus that had accumulated in the sculpture's head, as well as "severe and extensive rot", and the softness of the wood due to water damage, was treated with liquid consolidant, and a missing section of its torso was refilled with cellulose fiber. The treatment cost £32,000, and was nominated for "best restoration project of the year" at the Museums + Heritage Show after it was completed in 2019.

While it had been restored, the sculpture could not yet be put on display due to its vulnerability. In 2018, the Museum of Norwich at the Bridewell began a crowdfunding campaign, nicknamed Saving Samson, to fund a display case for the sculpture, and raised the £15,000 needed to purchase a custom environmentally controlled glass case. It was unveiled at the museum in April 2019.

Chú thích
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|  | Wikimedia Commons có thêm hình ảnh và phương tiện truyền tải về ***Tác phẩm điêu khắc Samson và Hercules***. |

1. 1 2 3 4 5 6  "Norwich nightclub's Samson statue: Funds appeal launched". *BBC News* (bằng tiếng Anh). 14 tháng 2 năm 2018. Truy cập ngày 11 tháng 9 năm 2023.
2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8  McGivern, Hannah (7 tháng 6 năm 2019). "Rotting 17th century wooden sculpture renovated by Norfolk Museums". *The Art Newspaper*. Truy cập ngày 10 tháng 9 năm 2023.
3. 1 2 3  "Statue of Samson from Norwich nightspot back on display". *BBC News* (bằng tiếng Anh). 3 tháng 4 năm 2019. Truy cập ngày 11 tháng 9 năm 2023.
4. ↑  "Unlikely new use for city's Samson and Hercules building". *Eastern Daily Press* (bằng tiếng Anh). 18 tháng 6 năm 2021. Truy cập ngày 11 tháng 9 năm 2023.
5. ↑  "Iconic Norwich statues given yet another makeover". *Norwich Evening News* (bằng tiếng Anh). 9 tháng 11 năm 2017. Truy cập ngày 11 tháng 9 năm 2023.