{"product_id":"leaping-dolphin-on-a-wave-marble-statue-120cm","title":"Leaping Dolphin on a Wave Marble Statue - 120cm","description":"\u003ch3\u003eDescription\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eA dolphin springs up out of carved water, back curved and the jaws parted. Both pectoral fins sweep back, the dorsal fin stands proud and the tail flukes drop toward the wave behind. The water below is cut as tall breaking crests with curled foam heads, hollowed and undercut. The whole spreads to a rounded foot. White marble close to neutral, soft grey veining through body and wave alike.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eA Wave Kept Solid to Protect Itself\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe foam crests on this piece are the thinnest stone anywhere on it - hollowed behind, undercut beneath, standing clear on edges a few millimetres through. They are also directly beneath the animal, which means every blow struck on the dolphin above travels down into them. So the wave is blocked as one solid mass at the start and deliberately kept solid for most of the job: the dolphin is roughed, modelled and brought almost to finish above a lump of undifferentiated stone. Only when nothing heavy remains to be done is the wave opened up, hollowed first and undercut afterwards, working from the outermost crests inward so that the most fragile work is done last and disturbed least.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAt 120cm and just over a tonne this is among the more manageable pieces here, and it does not need a foundation designed for it. At 120cm the curve of the back meets you between waist and chest. A pool surround, a terrace, the head of steps into a bathing court, a courtyard, or a plinth in a border. It reads from the side, where the arch of the body and the drop of the flukes are both visible, and almost not at all end-on. Give the foam more than one light source if you can - undercut crests flatten into a single white mass under one hard light.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eSmall Enough for a Terrace\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eFourteen to sixteen weeks. Blocking the wave solid and keeping it solid is what protects the crests through the whole job. The wave and its rounded foot are blocked as one mass, and the dolphin roughed springing from it, the body brought down before the head. Both pectoral fins and the dorsal are freed late, each standing clear on thin stone, and the flukes later still. The crests are hollowed and undercut at the very end, from the outside in. Animal and wave come from the same block, unpinned and unfilled at every point. Only 1,008kg for animal and wave, which a gantry will bed onto a prepared pad. Our main studios are in the UK (Birmingham) and Dubai, with additional global workshops.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSea creatures leap across \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/animal-sculptures\"\u003eanimal sculptures\u003c\/a\u003e, and poolside pieces belong in \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/garden-statues\"\u003egarden 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\u003e120cm\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":53837287981403,"sku":"MST-ANI-138","price":15296.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0869\/3383\/2027\/files\/MST-ANI-138_1.jpg?v=1787180527","url":"https:\/\/giant-sculptures.com\/products\/leaping-dolphin-on-a-wave-marble-statue-120cm","provider":"Giant Sculptures","version":"1.0","type":"link"}