{"product_id":"couchant-lion-with-head-raised-marble-statue-125cm","title":"Couchant Lion With Head Raised Marble Statue - 125cm","description":"\u003ch3\u003eDescription\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eA lion lies couchant with its head lifted and turned to one side, the mane cut in long flowing waves that sweep back from the brow and fall in a deep fringe at the throat. The forelegs are stretched out ahead and the tail is laid along the flank. It rests on a thin rectangular slab. The marble is a honey-amber, polished to a soft translucent sheen with cream mottling through the mane. The two versions are not the same carving: one lies with the forepaws flat, the other sets a forepaw on a sphere.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eCutting Deeper Because the Stone Glows\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eA honey-amber marble is slightly translucent. Light does not stop at the surface - it enters the stone, scatters a little way inside and comes back out, which is what gives the piece its glow and is also a real problem for the carver. Shadow is what makes carving legible, and in a translucent stone shallow shadow simply fills with light from underneath and disappears. So every cut on this lion is taken deeper than the same cut would be on a white marble: the mane grooves, the throat fringe, the line of the lids and the separation of the toes are all exaggerated relative to a matte stone, and the carver checks the work in daylight rather than under a workshop lamp, because the effect changes with the light.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe translucency is the point of this piece, and it only shows when light comes across the stone rather than straight at it. Set it where it gets low sun - an east or west aspect, a terrace that catches the end of the day, a windowsill-height ledge indoors - and it will glow through the thinner parts of the mane and along the raised muzzle. In flat overhead light or deep shade it reads as a plain warm beige and the whole effect is lost. At 125cm along the slab it sits at about knee height, so it is looked down on, and the lifted head is cut to still read from there.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eA Stone That Wants Raking Light\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eTwelve to fourteen weeks. The slab is cut first and the animal roughed lying on it. The head is set early, with spare stone at the throat, because it is both lifted and turned and a couchant lion has very little neck to find that in. The forelegs are then run out ahead of the mass and left thick until the mane behind them is done. The mane is worked outward to inward and cut deliberately deep, and the throat fringe is undercut hard for the same reason - a translucent stone needs the extra depth to hold its shadow. The polish is brought up by hand to a soft sheen rather than a full gloss, because a mirror finish would reflect light off the surface instead of letting it into the stone. Nothing is pinned or filled. Our main studios are in the UK (Birmingham) and Dubai, with additional global workshops. Around 1,140kg in one piece, moved by gantry and bedded onto a prepared concrete pad.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFurther couchant lions appear in \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/animal-sculptures\"\u003eanimal sculptures\u003c\/a\u003e, and translucent stone in \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/marble-sculptures\"\u003emarble 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\u003e125cm\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":"Version 1","offer_id":53872384278875,"sku":"MST-ANI-044-V1","price":18848.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Version 2","offer_id":53872384311643,"sku":"MST-ANI-044-V2","price":18848.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0869\/3383\/2027\/files\/MST-ANI-044_1.jpg?v=1787590590","url":"https:\/\/giant-sculptures.com\/products\/couchant-lion-with-head-raised-marble-statue-125cm","provider":"Giant Sculptures","version":"1.0","type":"link"}