{"product_id":"elephant-and-calf-caramel-marble-statue-190cm","title":"Elephant and Calf Caramel Marble Statue - 190cm","description":"\u003ch3\u003eDescription\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eA cow elephant stands with her calf beside her, the two cut as one group on a single slab. Her ears are spread, her trunk hangs and curls forward, and the calf stands under her chin at about a third her height with its own trunk raised. Both animals carry tusks of a pale white stone, the calf's no longer than a hand. The slab is thin with a plain bevelled edge. Warm caramel-tan marble, mottled and faintly translucent, dark brown flow-banding within.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eTwo Animals, One Slab, No Second Chances\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eA group carved from one block is set out once and cannot be revised. Two separate animals could be moved a hand's width apart at the last minute if the composition wanted it; these cannot, because the stone between them was cut away in the first week and the space they stand in is the space they will always stand in. So the layout is drawn on all four faces of the block before any roughing, the calf's position fixed relative to the cow's chin and foreleg, and both animals roughed together to the same stage rather than one being finished first. The gap between them is opened last, from above, because it is the one cut that cannot be undone.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe relationship between the two animals is the whole subject, and it only reads from the side - from the front the calf is hidden behind the cow's foreleg and the group becomes one elephant with something at its feet. So the long axis wants to face the approach: along a path, across a lawn, down the length of a terrace. At 190cm the cow stands near her true height, which is what makes the calf convincing. The caramel stone is faintly translucent and comes alive in low sun, where the brown flow-banding shows as depth rather than as marking.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eA Group Read From the Side\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eTwenty-two to twenty-four weeks. Laying out cow and calf together on one slab governs everything, because neither can be moved once roughed. The slab is cut and both animals roughed on it together, legs as thick columns, neither taken further than the other. The cow's body, ears and hanging trunk are then brought to shape, and the calf's after, worked down in every dimension rather than simply shallower. The gap between them is opened from above at the end. Tusk sockets on both are bored last and the pale tusks seated into them. Cow, calf and slab come from one block, with no pin, dowel or filler between them. Near 4,002kg for the group entire, craned in one lift onto a poured concrete footing. Our main studios are in the UK (Birmingham) and Dubai, with additional global workshops.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnimal groups are scarce among \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/animal-sculptures\"\u003eanimal sculptures\u003c\/a\u003e, and pieces of this scale belong to \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/large-garden-statues\"\u003elarge garden statues\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 Marble\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/tbody\u003e\u003c\/table\u003e","brand":"Giant Sculptures","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53836583960923,"sku":"MST-ANI-087","price":38102.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0869\/3383\/2027\/files\/MST-ANI-087_1.jpg?v=1787171642","url":"https:\/\/giant-sculptures.com\/products\/elephant-and-calf-caramel-marble-statue-190cm","provider":"Giant Sculptures","version":"1.0","type":"link"}