Henri Gaudier-Brzeska

Hanover Gallery, London, where acquired by the present owner, 12th July 1963

London, Leicester Galleries, A Memorial Exhibition of the Work of Henri Gaudier-Brzeska, May - June 1918, cat. no.60 (another cast);
Leeds, Temple Newsam, Roy de Maistre, Henri Gaudier-Brzeska, 26th June - 9th May 1943, cat. no.81 (another cast);
Orléans, Musée des Beaux Arts, Henri Gaudier, sculpteur orléanais, 17th March - 22nd April 1956, cat. no.72 (another cast);
Vienna, Meisterwerke der plastik Museum des 20 Jahrhunderts, 3rd - 30th July 1964, illustrated p.10.

Horace Brodzky, Henri Gaudier-Brzeska, London, 1932, pp.134-137;
Roger Cole, Burning to Speak: The Life and Art of Gaudier-Brzeska, Phaidon, Oxford, 1978, cat. no.60, p.114, illustrated;
J. Collins, The Omega Workshops, London, 1983, pp.74-75, illustrated pl.28;
Evelyn Silber, Gaudier-Brzeska: Life and Art, Thames and Hudson, London, 1996, cat. no.99, p.274, illustrated pl.150.

Dirt has gathered in some of the crevices. There are one or two tiny specks of verdigris to isolated places on the base. Some of the patination has rubbed away slightly along the very top edges of the top rim. Please telephone the department on 020 7293 6424 if you have any questions regarding the present work.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Conceived in 1914, the present work is one of 3 cast by the Susse Freres foundry for the Hanover Gallery in 1957.  One is in the Collection at Tate and the other is at Kettle's Yard, Cambridge.

The present work is one of two maquettes for two stone flower-vases commissioned in Spring 1914 through the Omega Workshops. They were never realised in their final forms; Horace Brodzky wrote on visiting the abandoned studio in October 1914: 'The stones lay there in the yard, the grass sprouting between them, now firmly embedded by their weight in the ground.'