Those pears outside the front of the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra are perhaps the most beloved item in its collection.
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Known more formally as Pear—version number 2 by George Baldessin, the seven pears have held pride of place in the gallery's forecourt.
So to see them on the back of a truck on Wednesday was a little heart-stopping.
The pears are being moved. But not from the gallery, a spokeswoman confirmed.
It seems the pears are being relocated to "not very far" from their present site to make way for a "new and exciting" sculpture to be unveiled soon by the gallery.
The as yet unnamed sculpture is "gravity-defying" and by an "outstanding American artist".
The mysterious new sculpture is on a long-term, temporary loan to the gallery.
A fresh base for the new sculpture was being prepared on Wednesday. The exact location for the pears has yet to be disclosed by the gallery.
Watch this space.
