{"product_id":"elephant-with-a-cloud-scroll-cloth-marble-statue-180cm","title":"Elephant With a Cloud-Scroll Cloth Marble Statue - 180cm","description":"\u003ch3\u003eDescription\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eAn elephant stands with head turned out and trunk curled down close beneath the chin. Cloud-scrolls border the cloth about its roundel, and tasselled pendants hang at either flank. There is one carved character at the heart of the roundel, and we have deliberately not written it out; the question has gone to the carvers instead. The ears are deeply folded and the tusks project forward. A pedestal below bands lotus-petal lobes over and under a frieze of scrolling foliage. The marble is white, with faint grey veining through the body and more strongly through the pedestal courses.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eA Border Cut Shallow on Purpose\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe cloud-scrolls that border this saddle-cloth are cut noticeably shallower than the roundel they surround, and that is deliberate. A border and a centre competing at the same depth produce a busy cloth where the eye does not know where to settle; drop the border back and the roundel leads, which is what the design intends. The restraint is the difficult part. Cloud scrolls are enjoyable to carve and it takes discipline to stop short of what the form invites, particularly on a white marble where every millimetre of extra depth reads as extra shadow. The border is therefore cut first and the roundel afterwards, so the deeper work is judged against a finished shallower field.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAt this height the saddle-cloth sits at about eye level, which is unusual among these elephants - most carry their carved cloth well overhead. That makes this one the piece to choose where the ornament matters more than the mass: a courtyard, a terrace, a hall, an entrance where people pass within a pace. At 180cm the carved cloth sits at about eye height, close enough to be studied. White marble with grey veining reads well against brick and dark planting; against pale stone the veining does the separating and the carving works less hard.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eCloth at Eye Height\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eSeventeen to nineteen weeks. Running the lotus lobes and the foliage frieze round the pedestal precedes the animal entirely. The foliage frieze is sunk between the two lobe bands. From a block of its own the elephant is stood up, legs kept heavy, the body then shaped and the ears folded deep. The saddle-cloth is sunk into the back, its cloud-scroll border cut first and shallow, the roundel deeper afterwards. The tasselled pendants are undercut late because they hang clear. The trunk is the last of the animal. Neither beast nor pedestal carries a pin, a dowel or any filler at all. About 3,403kg between the two parts, craned in turn and bedded onto a prepared footing. Our main studios are in the UK (Birmingham) and Dubai, with additional global workshops.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMore caparisoned animals wait in \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/animal-sculptures\"\u003eanimal sculptures\u003c\/a\u003e, and outdoor pieces in \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\u003e180cm\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":53835198398811,"sku":"MST-ANI-085","price":28028.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0869\/3383\/2027\/files\/MST-ANI-085_1.jpg?v=1787158469","url":"https:\/\/giant-sculptures.com\/products\/elephant-with-a-cloud-scroll-cloth-marble-statue-180cm","provider":"Giant Sculptures","version":"1.0","type":"link"}