Paul Moore (b. 1957)
Offering to the Sun, 2012
bronze, 5/15
12.5 x 42 x 14.5 inches
inscribed: Moore CA '12 5/15

“The Sun Dance is a…Blackfoot ceremony. It consists of four to five days of dancing, praying, fasting, and offerings. The dancers are pierced in the chest and fastened to pegs and rawhide thongs that are attached to a center pole and, in some cases, are pierced in the back and attached to buffalo skulls…This piece depicts the moment when the dancer, after many days of fasting and dancing, finally pulls the pegs and rawhide thong loose from his back and collapses. While sitting on the ground in total exhaustion, he continues to blow his eagle bone whistle and falls into the vision world...”      – Paul Moore

Offering to the Sun won the prestigious Anne W. Marion Best of Show Award for all mediums at the 2013 Cowboy Artists of America Exhibition and Sale held at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

The sculpture appears to be in good condition with no damage or evidence of restoration. The surface of the sculpture has a polychrome patina; it is mounted on a dark brown walnut base.