{"product_id":"guardian-lion-with-ball-or-cub-marble-statue-180cm","title":"Guardian Lion With Ball or Cub Marble Statue - 180cm","description":"\u003ch3\u003eDescription\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eA Chinese guardian lion in the traditional form, seated on a two-tier plinth with a lotus-petal band and a triangular apron carved with scrollwork. One rests its forepaw on an embroidered ball, the other on a cub. Sold as a single lion, so order two if you want a gate flanked on both sides.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eThe Male and Female of a Guardian Pair\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe pair are not mirrors of one another and were never meant to be. The male holds the embroidered ball, the female shelters a cub, and the difference sits in the forepaw and the weight of the shoulder above it rather than in the head. Each is therefore laid out from its own measurements and the two are worked side by side rather than one after the other, so the manes finish at the same height and the collars at the same depth.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFlanking is the point of a pair: one either side of a gate, a doorway, a bridge or the foot of steps, with the male traditionally on the right as you look out and the female on the left. A single lion still reads well on its own at a corner or a stair head. Allow the same clear ground either side so the two are read as a set rather than as two objects.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eOne Piece or Two, and Which Side\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eFourteen weeks for one, sixteen for the pair, because the two are matched against each other as they go and that costs time rather than saving it. Both plinths are cut first and levelled together, then the figures worked in parallel. The ball and the cub are undercut at the end, once the shoulders above them are stable. Our main studios are in the UK (Birmingham) and Dubai, with additional global workshops. Around 3,403kg per piece in two parts, craned in and set on a prepared concrete foundation.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOther paired figures sit in \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/animal-sculptures\"\u003eanimal sculptures\u003c\/a\u003e; the large outdoor ones are under \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\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":53831402520923,"sku":"MST-ANI-003","price":26985.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0869\/3383\/2027\/files\/MST-ANI-003_1.jpg?v=1787590572","url":"https:\/\/giant-sculptures.com\/products\/guardian-lion-with-ball-or-cub-marble-statue-180cm","provider":"Giant Sculptures","version":"1.0","type":"link"}