Sphere No. 6 is:

a) What was left of the Death Star after Luke Skywalker blew it up.
b) The remnants of Earth after a nuclear explosion.
c) A bronze sculpture by Italian artist Arnaldo Pomodoro.
d) I have no idea.

The correct answers are c and d. The piece is one of several by Pomodoro and I’m still not sure what it’s supposed to represent after reading several stories.

Sphere No. 6 is in the Hirshhorn Museum’s outdoor sculpture garden that isn’t short on thought-provoking pieces. It’s 45 by 46 by 118 inches and looks like a planet with a bite out of it. At least, that’s my layman’s view.

Created from 1963-65, Pomodoro has similar sphere sculptures in Vatican Museums, Trinity College in Dublin, United Nations Headquarters, Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis, the de Young Museum in San Francisco, Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art, American Republic Insurance Company in Des Moines, Iowa and the University of California, Berkeley.

Pomodoro’s most famous piece was a controversial fiberglass crucifix for the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist in Milwaukee, Wisc. It’s topped by a 14-foot crown of thorns over a figure of Christ.