Designed as a centurion, to a black silk cord, length approximately 335mm, signed Mitoraj, numbered, bronze display stand and wooden plinth.

Accompanied by an authenticity certificate dated 14.02.2013 stating that the sculpture, 'Centurione', was made in gold, lost wax procedure, numbered E/A, dimensions approximately 60 x 45mm. Accompanied by a bronze base on which the pendant can be mounted and a wood base stamped Mitoraj. Total height on mount approximately 332mm. Stamped 750 for 18 carat gold. Gross weight of pendant approximately 138 grams, gross weight including bronze mount and wood stand approximately 1070 grams.
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This pendant is the artist's proof, and is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity. Igor Mitoraj (1944- 2014) graduated from art school in 1963 and trained primarily as a painter under the author, painter and performance artist Tadeusz Kantor at the Kraków Academy of art. After opening his first solo exhibition in 1967 at the Krzysztofory Gallery, he continued to study painting at the National School of Art in Paris, but his interest gradually drifted towards sculpture, culminating in another solo exhibition at Galerie La Hune in 1976. In 1983 he established a studio near Carrara in Italy, where continued experimenting with differing materials, including the region's famous white marble, and his international reputation was boosted considerably by exhibiting at the 1986 Venice Biennale.

Cast using the traditional lost wax method as a unique artist's proof in 2013, this pendant depicts a fragmented statue of a centurion, and is exemplary of Mitoraj's engagement with ancient sculpture and its capacity to illustrate the fragility, endurance and beauty of humanity.

Mitoraj's works encompass many large-scale public sculptures, including two in Canary Wharf in London, and a similar, full-scale version of the present pendant in Bamberg, Germany. 

After returning to his native Poland in 2003, Mitoraj was awarded the Golden Medal of Medal for Merit to Culture - Gloria Artis, and in 2012 received the Commander's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta. He passed away in 2014.