{"product_id":"horse-head-from-the-block-marble-statue-250cm","title":"Horse Head from the Block Marble Statue - 250cm","description":"\u003ch3\u003eDescription\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eA horse's head and neck rise out of a rough block of stone left entirely unworked. The muzzle, the flared nostril, the open eye and both pricked ears are all finished, and the mane is cut in thick separated locks along the crest. The head is fully modelled and the block below the throat is left exactly as it split. Below the throat the carving simply stops and becomes raw split stone, running down as an irregular tapering mass to a flat footing. White marble near neutral, grey veining stronger through the rough split block.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eDeciding Where the Carving Stops\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eLeaving part of a block raw is not the same as leaving it unfinished, and the difference is decided before any stone comes off. The line where the modelled neck gives way to split rock has to fall where it looks inevitable - too high and the head appears to be drowning in the block, too low and the raw stone reads as a plinth someone forgot to dress. So the transition is marked on the raw block first, and the head is then carved down to meet a boundary that already exists. The raw faces themselves are split rather than sawn, in one pass, and never touched again: go back to tidy a patch and it stops reading as fracture and starts reading as tooling, which destroys the whole conceit.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis is a modern piece in a range that is mostly classical, and it does not sit comfortably among naturalistic statuary - the raw block is an argument about carving itself, and it needs neighbours that can take part in it or none at all. At 250cm the head is far overhead, and the raw block carries it there. A gallery wall, a modern forecourt, a stair hall, a courtyard of plain dressed stone, the end of a long lawn. Set it where the split faces catch raking light rather than flat light: the whole bottom half of the piece is texture, and in flat light it goes dead while the polished head above keeps working.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eA Contemporary Device at Full Height\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eTwenty-four to twenty-six weeks. Deciding where the finished carving stops and the raw block begins comes before any cutting at all. The block is stood, the transition line marked on the raw stone, and the head roughed above it - muzzle and jaw first, the ears held as solid stubs. The eye and nostril are cut once the planes of the head are settled, and the mane locks are separated late. The raw faces are split in one pass at the end and left entirely alone. One block throughout, head and rough mass alike, with no pin and no filler. Some 9,118kg in one unbroken block, craned in a single lift onto a poured concrete foundation. Our main studios are in the UK (Birmingham) and Dubai, with additional global workshops.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBusts sit apart from the full figures in \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/animal-sculptures\"\u003eanimal sculptures\u003c\/a\u003e, and contemporary work 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\u003e250cm\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":53837287948635,"sku":"MST-ANI-137","price":30245.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0869\/3383\/2027\/files\/MST-ANI-137_1.jpg?v=1787180526","url":"https:\/\/giant-sculptures.com\/products\/horse-head-from-the-block-marble-statue-250cm","provider":"Giant Sculptures","version":"1.0","type":"link"}