Acquired directly from the Artist by Victor Rothschild, 3^rd Baron Rothschild, and thence by descent to the present owner

London, Tate, Henry Moore, July - September 1968, cat. no.135 (another cast);
New Delhi, National Gallery of Modern Art, Henry Moore: Sculptures, Drawings and Graphics, 1st October - 15th November 1987, cat. no.84 (another cast).

Henry Moore, Carvings 1961-1970, Bronzes 1961-1970, (exh. cat.) New York, M. Knoedler & Co., p.87, illustrated (another cast);
Alan Bowness (ed.), Henry Moore, Sculpture and Drawings, Vol.4, 1964-73, London, Lund Humphries, 1977, cat. no.527, illustrated (another cast);
David Mitchinson et. al., Celebrating Moore, Works from the Collection of The Henry Moore Foundation, Lund Humphries, London, 1998, cat. no.207, illustrated p.290 (another cast).

The work has previously been housed outside, but has recently benefited from cleaning, as outlined below, by Tessa Jackson of Jackson Sculpture Conservation Ltd. The wire has been cleaned, cut and re-welded under some tension in order to make it strait, then coloured down in the area of weld to tone, the work carried out of Richard Rogers Conservation. The lacquer of the bronze was removed, followed by gentle finishing removing the corrosion as far as possible to mitigating the pitted appearance. It would not be possible to abrade the surface down to a smooth level as this would remove too much surface and would damage the delicately indented numbers and details of the dial. The polishing that was then carried out was concentrated to areas that had completely oxidised so that they became part of the piece again in their golden colour. The neck of the piece, between the base and the moons of the sundial was found to be totally unvarnished, it is thought that this piece was left as a patinated area and so was not abraded and was hot waxed along with the rest of the piece which in this area produced rich, dark brown / green colours. The entire surface was hot waxed with clear renaissance wax and allowed to cool. Areas that needed to be integrated into the surface (where an old varnish layer had been) were gently retouched with oil paints. The sculpture was then buffed, with a further bit of retouching carried out. The piece can be viewed now with a uniform surface more akin to its fabrication. There is a definite age to the piece and its outdoor display history can be literally seen etched into the surface. The area of varnish that were thicker have been removed and these surfaces integrated with the rest of the piece. With the surface of this piece it is recommended for indoor display only with an upkeep of the wax layer in order to prevent the surface from darkening and oxidising. If it is required for outdoor display then it is advised that the piece be wiped over, dried and a renaissance wax applied tow or three times a year. This can be carried out using a soft lint free cloth and then wiped off after application. The wax (unlike a varnish layer) will allow the piece to breath rather than to seal it. Please telephone the department on +44 (0) 207 293 6424 if you have any questions regarding the present lot.
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