{"product_id":"faceted-owl-white-marble-statue-180cm","title":"Faceted Owl White Marble Statue - 180cm","description":"\u003ch3\u003eDescription\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eAn owl perches square to the front, two facial discs cut as deep radiating fans. Ringed eyes sit at their centres, sharp ear tufts lift at either side and a small hooked beak sits between. Breast and belly are resolved into flat diamond planes with sharp arrises between them. The folded wings at either side are carved instead as courses of overlapping feathers. Both feet grip the front edge of a plain rectangular plinth. White marble near neutral, grey veining crossing the faceted breast and plinth.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eA Faceted Body and a Naturalistic Face\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis bird asks for two incompatible languages on one object. The breast is faceted - flat planes, sharp arrises, straight edges - and the face is naturalistic, with radiating feather fans and modelled eye rings. Where they meet, at the throat, there is a real risk of the piece reading as two halves of different sculptures stuck together. The answer is decided on the block rather than discovered at the throat: the facial discs are set out as two shallow dishes whose OUTER edges are straight-sided, so that the outermost facet of the breast can run up and die into a straight line rather than into a curve. Everything after that follows - the face is cut to a boundary that is already faceted, and the transition never has to be negotiated.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAn owl is a frontal composition and this one doubly so: the two radiating discs are the whole piece and they face outward. At 180cm the pair of discs sit overhead, so the bird is met looking up. So it wants approaching head-on rather than passing - the end of a path, an alcove, a gateway, facing down a walk, framed in an opening. Keep the background plain. Faceted stone against foliage or patterned brick becomes visual noise, and the grey veining that crosses the flat breast planes - the quiet pleasure of the piece - disappears entirely against anything busy.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eA Frontal Bird on a Plain Ground\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eEighteen to twenty weeks. Reconciling a faceted breast with a naturalistic face is decided on the block, not discovered. The plinth is dressed and the bird roughed above it as an over-square upright mass. The two facial discs are set out first, with straight-sided outer edges, so the breast facets have a straight boundary to die into. The breast planes are then cut in flat passes and checked across both diagonals. The wing feather courses, ear tufts and gripping feet are freed last. Bird and plinth take no pin and no filler, and the facets are cut not moulded. Some 3,403kg for bird and plinth, craned across and bedded onto a prepared pad. Our main studios are in the UK (Birmingham) and Dubai, with additional global workshops.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBirds gather in one part of \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/animal-sculptures\"\u003eanimal sculptures\u003c\/a\u003e, and planar carving in \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/geometric-sculptures\"\u003egeometric 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":53837288276315,"sku":"MST-ANI-144","price":25656.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0869\/3383\/2027\/files\/MST-ANI-144_1.jpg?v=1787180536","url":"https:\/\/giant-sculptures.com\/products\/faceted-owl-white-marble-statue-180cm","provider":"Giant Sculptures","version":"1.0","type":"link"}