{"product_id":"leaping-dolphin-on-scrolled-waves-marble-180cm","title":"Leaping Dolphin on Scrolled Waves Marble - 180cm","description":"\u003ch3\u003eDescription\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eA dolphin leaps clear of carved water, the near pectoral fin spread and finely combed. The body is arched with the head up and the mouth open, the dorsal fin stands proud and the flukes drop back into the water. The water is cut as a bank of tight scrolled crests, each rolled into a complete spiral rather than broken into foam. White marble faintly cool, soft grey veining stronger in the crests than the body.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eCrests Rolled Into Complete Spirals\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eMost carved water in this range breaks - crests hollowed behind and undercut beneath, with the foam left ragged. This one does not: every crest is rolled right round into a closed spiral, which is a quite different problem. A broken crest is undercut from one side only and the stone behind it stays solid. A closed spiral has to be undercut from BOTH sides until the two cuts meet in the middle, leaving a curl of stone held on a single narrow line of marble - and there are a dozen of them across the bank, each one weaker than a broken crest would be. So they are cut last of all, from the outermost spiral inward, and each is finished before the next is started so that no unfinished curl is ever left in the way of a tool.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWater carved as closed spirals is decorative rather than descriptive - it is pattern, not sea - and it puts this piece in formal company. A pool with dressed stone copings, a courtyard basin, a rill, a terrace above water, the head of steps into a bathing court. At 180cm the arched body rises overhead and the spirals sit at about the knee. It suits a laid-out garden far better than a naturalistic one, where the geometry of the spirals argues with everything around it. Give the crests light from more than one direction if you can: a closed spiral throws a shadow inside itself and a single hard source flattens the whole bank.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eFormal Water, Formal Setting\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eEighteen to twenty weeks. Rolling every crest into a complete spiral means each one is undercut on both sides. The wave bank is blocked as one solid mass and kept solid while the dolphin is roughed rising from it, the body brought down before the head. Pectoral, dorsal and flukes all wait until last - every one of them a thin blade of marble out in the air, and every one finely combed. The scrolled crests are cut at the very end, from the outermost inward, each finished before the next is begun. Animal and scrolled wave come from one mass, with nothing pinned or filled. Some 3,403kg for animal and wave, craned across onto a poured concrete footing. Our main studios are in the UK (Birmingham) and Dubai, with additional global workshops.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSea creatures leap throughout \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/animal-sculptures\"\u003eanimal sculptures\u003c\/a\u003e, and poolside work under \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/outdoor-sculptures\"\u003eoutdoor 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":53841768481115,"sku":"MST-ANI-172","price":25656.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0869\/3383\/2027\/files\/MST-ANI-172_1.jpg?v=1787232287","url":"https:\/\/giant-sculptures.com\/products\/leaping-dolphin-on-scrolled-waves-marble-180cm","provider":"Giant Sculptures","version":"1.0","type":"link"}