{"product_id":"elephant-with-a-carved-roundel-marble-statue-210cm","title":"Elephant With a Carved Roundel Marble Statue - 210cm","description":"\u003ch3\u003eDescription\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eHead turned outward, an elephant stands with its trunk curled down over a small vessel. A cloth bordered in scrollwork lies across the back, centred on a roundel, tasselled pendants swinging at the flank. At the centre of the roundel is a single carved character. We do not reproduce it here: what it says is the workshop's to tell us and ours to pass on accurately, and we would rather ask than guess. The ears are cut in deep folds and the tusks are short. Below, a pedestal sets one band of lotus-petal lobes over another, with a frieze of lotus and scrolling foliage between them. White marble carries faint grey veining through pedestal and lotus lobes alike.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eTwo Lobe Bands That Have to Agree\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis pedestal carries lotus lobes twice, once above the frieze and once below it, and the two runs have to agree - same count, same width, same phase, so a lobe above sits over a lobe below all the way round. Nothing forces that to happen; if each band is set out on its own they will drift apart and the pedestal will look subtly wrong in a way most people cannot name. So both runs are divided together from the same set of marks carried down the face, and both are cut in alternating passes rather than one being finished first, which keeps them to a common depth as well as a common rhythm.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eEverything decorative on this piece is on the back and the pedestal, and at this height the back is above the eye. That is not a fault - it is how a temple elephant is meant to be seen, from below and from the side - but it does mean the piece wants an approach along its length rather than a position where people stand over it. A gateway, a drive, a courtyard entrance, the head of a broad flight. At 210cm the pedestal lifts the elephant's back overhead, which suits an arrival. White marble with faint grey veining carries well against brick and dark hedging.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eCarved Cloth Above the Eye\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eNineteen to twenty-one weeks. Banding the pedestal with its lotus lobes precedes the animal, top course and bottom worked as one run. The lotus frieze is cut between the two lobe bands afterwards and the bed above worked flat. The animal is carved from its own block: roughed standing with the legs left as thick columns, then the body, then the deep ear folds. The saddle-cloth is sunk into the back and its roundel cut last of the cloth. The trunk and the vessel it holds are the final work, both hanging clear of the body. Nothing in this piece is pinned or filled, and the courses are bedded rather than glued. About 5,404kg across animal and pedestal, each craned separately onto a poured concrete foundation. Our main studios are in the UK (Birmingham) and Dubai, with additional global workshops.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eCaparisoned beasts recur inside \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/animal-sculptures\"\u003eanimal sculptures\u003c\/a\u003e, and white stone throughout \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\u003e210cm\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":53835195318619,"sku":"MST-ANI-078","price":31089.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0869\/3383\/2027\/files\/MST-ANI-078_1.jpg?v=1787158462","url":"https:\/\/giant-sculptures.com\/products\/elephant-with-a-carved-roundel-marble-statue-210cm","provider":"Giant Sculptures","version":"1.0","type":"link"}