{"product_id":"leaping-horse-on-carved-cloud-marble-statue-250cm","title":"Leaping Horse on Carved Cloud Marble Statue - 250cm","description":"\u003ch3\u003eDescription\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eA horse springs forward from a bank of carved cloud, both forelegs raised and the head turned in. The head carries a bridle, the mane breaks into short flame-shaped locks, and the tail sweeps out behind. The cloud below is cut in bulbous lobes with volutes curled into them, formal rather than atmospheric. The near hind leg stands clear through an opening cut right through the cloud mass, and the whole stands on a thin rectangular slab. There are no wings on this model. White marble close to neutral, soft grey veining drifting through barrel, haunch and cloud.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eAn Opening Cut Through the Base Itself\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe near hind leg of this horse does not stand on the cloud bank - it stands through it, in an opening cut clean through the mass from one side to the other. That single decision shapes the whole job. An opening through the structural base of a piece this heavy has to be sized and positioned at the first setting-out, because the stone around it is what carries nine tonnes to the slab, and it cannot be moved later by so much as a centimetre without reconsidering the load path. It is bored and opened while the cloud mass is still a rough block at full section, so there is surplus stone on every side of it, and the lobes and volutes are carved around a hole that is already in its final place rather than the hole being fitted to the carving.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis is the same leap and the same cloud bank as our winged version, without the wings, and it is a different proposition for a garden: a horse rather than a Pegasus, which sits easily in a setting where a mythological creature would be doing too much talking. At 250cm the raised forelegs are well above the head and the piece reads from below. Put it at the head of a drive, in a forecourt, on the axis of a walk - anywhere the profile of the leap is the first thing seen. The opening through the cloud mass is worth showing: place it so the light comes through that gap rather than behind it, and the animal reads as airborne instead of as attached to a lump of stone.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eA Horse Without the Myth\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eTwenty-four to twenty-six weeks. Cutting the opening right through the cloud mass for the hind leg is planned from the first setting-out. The slab is dressed, the cloud mass blocked at full section above it, and the opening bored and cut through while there is still surplus stone all round it. The horse is roughed next, barrel and haunches first, the raised forelegs held as heavy stubs and the near hind leg left thick where it passes through the gap. Head and flame-cut mane follow. The cloud lobes and volutes are hollowed last. No pinning and no filler in horse, cloud or slab - the opening is cut, not assembled. Some 9,118kg in two parts, craned in turn onto a poured concrete foundation. Our main studios are in the UK (Birmingham) and Dubai, with additional global workshops.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHorses gather within \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/animal-sculptures\"\u003eanimal sculptures\u003c\/a\u003e, and the tallest of them under \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/life-size-large-statues\"\u003elife size large 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\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":53836687376731,"sku":"MST-ANI-112","price":29550.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0869\/3383\/2027\/files\/MST-ANI-112_1.jpg?v=1787174876","url":"https:\/\/giant-sculptures.com\/products\/leaping-horse-on-carved-cloud-marble-statue-250cm","provider":"Giant Sculptures","version":"1.0","type":"link"}