{"product_id":"couchant-winged-lion-with-a-crown-stone-statue-190cm","title":"Couchant Winged Lion With a Crown Stone Statue - 190cm","description":"\u003ch3\u003eDescription\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eCouchant upon a deep pedestal, a winged lion turns its head aside and shows its teeth. One wing rises from the shoulder and sweeps back through tiered rows of feathers, ending in a carved scroll. Its head is that of a cat and not a bird, which is what separates a winged lion from a griffin. A crown rests beside the front paws and a beaded harness band crosses the flank. Below sits a deep rectangular pedestal, its face bearing a sunk acanthus diamond and a scrolled console at one end. The stone is a pale beige, granular and weathered, with cream in the lighter passages and darker staining settled in the recesses.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eOne Pedestal, Two Different Beasts\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis pedestal design is carved for more than one creature. The sunk acanthus diamond, the scrolled console and the crown at the front paw all appear again beneath an eagle-headed griffin, and everything below the animal's chest is cut identically for both. What changes is the head, and it changes late: the block above the shoulders is left square through the whole of the pedestal work and the body carving, and only near the end is it committed either to a beak and a feathered crest or, as here, to a feline muzzle with rounded ears. That is why the head decides what the beast is and the base cannot be relied on for it - a difference of a few days' carving separates the two.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe staining in the recesses of this piece is weathering, not dirt, and it is what gives the acanthus its depth - washed off, the carving would flatten. So it belongs outdoors and unsealed, where it will go on darkening in the hollows and staying pale on the raised work. A gate pier, a wall end, a terrace corner or the head of steps all suit it, with the turned head facing the approach. At 190cm overall the beast sits at about chest to shoulder height on its pedestal, close enough that the beaded harness and the crown repay a second look.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eWeathered Stone in an Open Position\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eNineteen to twenty-one weeks. Dressing the pedestal and sinking its acanthus diamond occupies the opening weeks, and the beast is roughed couchant above it afterwards. That wing stays a solid mass at the shoulder throughout the body work, being the most exposed stone on the piece. Flank and haunch are modelled before the beaded harness band is cut across them. The wing is then taken down to its feather rows from the trailing edge forward, and the scroll at its tip is left thick because it stiffens the most vulnerable corner. The crown beside the paws is cut after that. The head is the final commitment and the last thing finished. Nothing throughout the beast or its pedestal has been pinned, filled or spliced together. Our main studios are in the UK (Birmingham) and Dubai, with additional global workshops. Some 4,002kg divided between beast and pedestal, each craned in turn onto a poured concrete footing.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eKindred couchant creatures rest in \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/animal-sculptures\"\u003eanimal sculptures\u003c\/a\u003e, and weathering stone belongs with \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\u003e190cm\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 Stone\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/tbody\u003e\u003c\/table\u003e","brand":"Giant Sculptures","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53834315792731,"sku":"MST-ANI-059","price":27333.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0869\/3383\/2027\/files\/MST-ANI-059_1.jpg?v=1787154666","url":"https:\/\/giant-sculptures.com\/products\/couchant-winged-lion-with-a-crown-stone-statue-190cm","provider":"Giant Sculptures","version":"1.0","type":"link"}