{"product_id":"couchant-sheep-white-marble-statue-70cm","title":"Couchant Sheep White Marble Statue - 70cm","description":"\u003ch3\u003eDescription\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eA sheep lies couchant, both forelegs reaching straight in front and the head lifted. The ears hang, the mouth is closed and the head is turned slightly out. The fleece is cut in tight curled locks over back, shoulder and flank while the face and legs are left smooth. It lies on a canted rectangular slab. White to pale grey marble, matte and even, soft grey mottling in fleece and slab. One animal on its own slab is what is priced.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eA Fleece of Separate Locks, Not a Texture\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThere are two ways to carve a fleece and only one of them is worth paying for. The quick way is a texture: a punched or chiselled roughness over the whole back that reads as wool from ten paces and as noise from two. The slow way, and the way this is done, is to cut every lock as a separate curled form with its own undercut, so that the fleece has real depth and the shadows between the locks do the work rather than the surface. That decision governs the entire schedule: the back has to be left proud until the very end, because each lock takes stone from its neighbour and the whole field has to be worked as one, and a lock cut too deep cannot be put back - the only remedy is to cut its neighbours back to suit, and the profile of the whole back goes with them.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAt 70cm and 200kg this is the smallest and lightest piece in the range, and the only one four people can carry without equipment. At 70cm along its length this lies low, and it is looked down upon from every side. It suits being come upon rather than displayed: a lawn edge, a border, a gravel bed, the foot of steps, beside a bench, or indoors on a hall floor or a wide hearth. And it reads far better as two than as one - a facing pair either side of a path or a doorway is what the pose is composed for, which is worth knowing since the price here buys a single animal.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eLow, Small, and Better in Twos\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eTwelve to fourteen weeks. Cutting the fleece as separate curled locks rather than a texture is what the whole schedule turns on. The slab is dressed and canted, and the sheep blocked out upon it, the two forelegs carried as one heavy bar of stone. The barrel and haunch are taken down after that, with the back left standing deliberately proud of its final line. The head, ears and smooth face follow. The fleece is then worked as one field, lock by curled lock, each undercut against its neighbour, and the extended forelegs are freed at the end. Neither animal nor slab carries a pin, a dowel or any filler at any point. Only 200kg for one animal and slab, which four people can bed onto a prepared pad. Our main studios are in the UK (Birmingham) and Dubai, with additional global workshops.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFarm animals are scarce in \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/animal-sculptures\"\u003eanimal sculptures\u003c\/a\u003e, and pieces this size suit \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/indoor-sculptures\"\u003eindoor 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\u003e70cm\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":53837120635227,"sku":"MST-ANI-128","price":7995.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0869\/3383\/2027\/files\/MST-ANI-128_1.jpg?v=1787590638","url":"https:\/\/giant-sculptures.com\/products\/couchant-sheep-white-marble-statue-70cm","provider":"Giant Sculptures","version":"1.0","type":"link"}