{"product_id":"arching-dolphin-grey-marble-statue-180cm","title":"Arching Dolphin Grey Marble Statue - 180cm","description":"\u003ch3\u003eDescription\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eA dolphin arches clear of the water, head up and the near pectoral fin spread flat. The flukes drop to the base behind and a plain tapered support rises from the slab to carry the belly. It stands on a thick rectangular slab with a plain squared edge, cut with two shallow notches along the front. Mid grey marble, mottled and cloudy, rust-brown staining drifting right through it.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eSizing the Support Before the Animal\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe tapered support under this dolphin's belly is the least interesting thing on the piece and the first thing settled. An arching animal on a slab has almost all its weight out beyond its own footprint - the head reaches forward and up, the flukes reach back - so the support is not a prop added for safety, it is the structural member the whole composition depends on, and its section has to be calculated from the finished weight before that weight exists. It is therefore blocked at full thickness and kept there for the entire job, with the animal carved around it for months. Only at the very end, when the true mass above is known, is it cut back to the profile shown - and never further than the arithmetic allows, which is why it stays stout.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis is the only grey dolphin we make - the other eight are white - and the rust-brown staining drifting through the stone takes it further from them still. At 180cm overall the arch reaches forward as much as up, and the slab sits low. That suits it to settings the whites struggle in: against brick, terracotta paving, sandstone, gravel or timber decking, where a bright white animal looks pasted on. Beside a pool it reads more like weathered stone than new marble, which is either what you want or the reason to choose another. A works label is stuck to the support when the piece leaves the workshop; it is not part of the carving and comes off before shipping.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eA Grey Dolphin, and the Rust in It\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eEighteen to twenty weeks. Sizing the swept support before the animal is roughed is what carries the arch. The slab is dressed with its squared edge and front notches, and the support blocked at full thickness above it. The dolphin is then roughed arching over it, body before head, with the flukes left heavy where they meet the slab behind. The spread pectoral is freed late, standing clear on thin stone. The support is cut back to its final profile at the very end, once the mass above it is settled. Animal, support and slab are one block, unpinned and unfilled throughout. Some 3,403kg with the slab, craned across onto a poured concrete footing. Our main studios are in the UK (Birmingham) and Dubai, with additional global workshops.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSea creatures leap through \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/animal-sculptures\"\u003eanimal sculptures\u003c\/a\u003e, and poolside pieces suit \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/outdoor-sculptures\"\u003eoutdoor sculptures\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eSpecification\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003ctable class=\"spec_table\"\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eHeight\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e180cm\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eBase\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eIncluded\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eMaterial\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eHand-Carved Natural Marble\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/tbody\u003e\u003c\/table\u003e","brand":"Giant Sculptures","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53843256017243,"sku":"MST-ANI-182","price":25656.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0869\/3383\/2027\/files\/MST-ANI-182_1.jpg?v=1787234868","url":"https:\/\/giant-sculptures.com\/products\/arching-dolphin-grey-marble-statue-180cm","provider":"Giant Sculptures","version":"1.0","type":"link"}