A typed note to the underside of the base quotes a letter from the artist, dated 1962, where he commented "It is certainly a beautiful piece of timber, and the timber merchant that sold it to me informed me that...it was bought by his Grandfather in 1899, and there it remained in their workshop until I saw it last year and persuaded him to sell it to me on condition I made a model out of it. I made it rotate on a spigot, so that its many designs and grain could be viewed from all angles."