This arresting sculpture, one of only five works in the catalogue to date to be cast in bronze, is an evocation of the power of love, that of Orpheus and Euridice: this force is such a uniting bond that the sculpture takes the form of a double portrait, with the two lovers ‘sharing’ the middle eye – the ‘third’ eye of Tibetan mythology, and in this figure the one open to reveal a pupil of mother-of-pearl – in a double head, supported by the beautifully modelled hand of the Poet-god. The ‘Orpheus’ head is crowned with a laurel, patinated a dark green, as are the eyebrows and lashes, whereas the rest of the bronze is of rich verdigris, apart from the ethereally-tinted lips and fingernails. The whole figure is mounted on a red jasper stand.

The legend of Orpheus, whose love was strong enough to transcend even death, often recurs in this artist’s work, but this is the first larger table-piece on the theme.