{"product_id":"gold-gilded-guardian-lion-on-flecked-block-45cm","title":"Gold Gilded Guardian Lion on Flecked Block - 45cm","description":"\u003ch3\u003eDescription\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe gilding on this resin sculpture runs over the crown, the mane and both forelegs down to the paws planted on the block beneath: tight curls round a domed brow above a broad muzzle. Between the forelegs the body is left clear, so the gold reads as a skin over the front of the animal rather than a solid mass. What it sits on is the opposite - a block of clear resin, left rough where it was broken, with flakes of the same gold suspended through it. Gold above, clear material below.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eAn Opaque Animal on a Transparent Block\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eGilding a curled mane is slower than gilding a flat surface by a long way. Every curl is a hollow with an undercut lip, and leaf that stops at the lip leaves a dark ring at the bottom of each one, which from across a room reads as dirt rather than shadow. So the leaf is worked down into each hollow separately and burnished there, and a mane of this size is the slowest single operation on the piece. The block underneath is left deliberately unfinished on its broken faces and polished only on the top, where the animal sits: a rough face in clear resin scatters light and makes the gold above it look brighter, which is why it is not smoothed. The join is a flat seat the width of the paws.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAn opaque gold animal needs a plain ground and a little distance, so a console against a pale wall, a hall chest or a shelf at chest height all suit it. It does not want backlight: light behind it silhouettes the gold and turns the block into a bright blank, where light from the front or above puts the modelling back into the mane. Two of them, one to each side of a gateway, is the usual arrangement, and the price here covers a single animal.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eMetal, the Block and Getting It Into Place\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eA standard piece takes 3–4 weeks to make, and a bespoke commission 5–6. Silver and copper are made in place of the gold, and a partial gilding - the mane alone, or the mane and the collar - is offered where the whole animal is too much. The block comes clear and flecked as here, in a plain clear, or in a black stone. The design is mirrored to order, which is how a facing pair for a gateway is built. Any scale is cut to order, up to the sizes made for gateways. Delivery is one fitted crate with the animal and the block already joined; two people should lift it, taking it under the block and never by the mane. Our main studios are in the UK (Birmingham) and Dubai, with additional global workshops.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA guardian lion gilded from mane to paw belongs with our \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/lion-statues\"\u003elion statues\u003c\/a\u003e; a curled mane worked in gold leads to our \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/animal-sculptures\"\u003eanimal sculptures\u003c\/a\u003e, and a rough block flecked with leaf joins our \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/resin-sculptures\"\u003eresin 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\u003e44.7cm\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eWidth\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e26cm\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eDepth\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e26cm\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eMaterial\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eGilded Cast Resin with Gold Leaf\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/tbody\u003e\u003c\/table\u003e","brand":"Giant Sculptures","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54019276177755,"sku":"R195","price":2564.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0869\/3383\/2027\/files\/R195.jpg?v=1791309976","url":"https:\/\/giant-sculptures.com\/products\/gold-gilded-guardian-lion-on-flecked-block-45cm","provider":"Giant Sculptures","version":"1.0","type":"link"}