A forgotten sculpture by Henry Moore has been sold at auction, after allegedly sitting on its owner's mantlepiece for years. The owner, who died back in 2019, was supposedly unaware of the value of the artwork, having received it as a gift many years ago. Now, over two years later, it has been authenticated as genuine.
The pioneering work in lead by Britain's leading sculptor, called Mother and Child, was only expected to fetch £30-50,000. However, it has been sold for £400,000 at auction - 13 times its estimate. This is largely due to the rarity of the piece, as it is cast in lead, which the artist only used for a brief period in the 1930s.
At that time Moore was experimenting with a range of materials such as string and wire to make a series of stringed sculptures. Mother and Child, which dates from 1939 or 1940, is believed to be an early design for one of the stringed sculptures, which explains why it has unusual markings on the front which make it more joyful and playful.
