Joan Miró

Galerie Maeght, Paris

Pierre Matisse Gallery, New York

Alain Jouffroy & J. Teixidor, Miró Sculptures, Paris, 1980, no. 278, illustration of another cast p. 205

Emilio Fernández Miró & Pila Ortega Chapel, Joan Miró, Sculptures.  Catalogue raisonné, 1928-1982, Paris, 2006, no. 318, illustration of another cast p. 301

Excellent condition. The round form displays a uniform dark brown patina in very good condition. The attached arc element above has a varigated green patina. The sculpture is stable and in excellent condition.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Although from time to time Miró had worked with three-dimensional forms, it was not until the 1960s that he began to work consistently in bronze.  His sculptures from the late 1960s onwards were often composed of assemblages of commonplace objects that "have an irrationality as total objects that endows them with a strongly equivocal, poetic presence" (M. Rowell, Miró, New York, 1970, p. 25).

According to the new catalogue raisonné by Emilio Fernández Miró and Pila Ortega Chapel, the present bronze was cast by the lost-wax process at the Susse Foundry in Arcueil.  It is one of four casts that is signed and justified by the artist, and it is the first cast from that edition.  After it was consigned to Miró's Paris dealer Galerie Maeght, it was later sent to his New York-based dealer, Pierre Matisse.