The present lot appears to be cast from a 1967 ebony sculpture of the same name in the artist’s collection, exhibited in London at the Commonwealth Art Gallery in 1977, Commonwealth Artists of Fame 1952-1977. A contemporary review in West Africa Magazine records:
“I still think of Enwonwu as the best modern wood carver, and he has three carvings at the Commonwealth Institute. The ebony ‘Torso of Girl’ is powerful and dignified, but it also has a special beauty.”
It is likely that Enwonwu took advantage of the sculpture being in London for this show to have it cast in bronze at the Burleighfield foundry, which opened near High Wycombe in 1977 and was in operation until the 1990s. Enwonwu cast some of his finest bronze sculptures at Burleighfield at this time, including his best-known work Anyanwu and the two large sculptures commissioned for the new international terminal at Murtala International Airport in Lagos, which opened in March 1979.