Tetrode's bronze figure of Hercules Pomarius is the lead lot of a January 27 sale in New York.

The lot will headline Christie's sale of the Abbot Guggenheim collection with a valuation of $1.5m-2.5m.

Tetrode's work has grown in value in recent years

Willem Danielsz van Tetrode (circa 1530-1587) was a Dutch sculptor.

He studied under Benvenuto Cellini in Florence before taking up a position repairing Roman sculptures for the Vatican, although he also produced his own work.

In recent years, Tetrode's work has dramatically increased in value due to a rise in his profile. The present lot is executed in bronze and was acquired for the Guggenheim collection in 1972.

Christie's comments: "Tetrode is accepted as one of the most innovative and influential sculptors working at the end of the 16th century…

"And his Hercules Pomarius remains one of his most iconic works - as mysterious and powerful to the modern viewer as it would have been to the Renaissance prince."

Another Tetrode piece, A Bronze Figure of an Ecorche Man, carries an identical estimate of $1.5m-2.5m.

Ecorche refers to the practice of illustrating a figure without skin, displaying muscles and bone structure.

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