{"product_id":"naturalistic-elephant-marble-statue-210cm","title":"Naturalistic Elephant Marble Statue - 210cm","description":"\u003ch3\u003eDescription\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eHead slightly turned, an elephant stands with its trunk hanging low against the base. The ears are spread and folded, the tusks project forward, and the modelling is naturalistic throughout. A plain cloth lies over the back bearing one carved oval device, and nothing else adorns the animal. It stands on a low slab whose face carries a frieze of acanthus scrollwork. White marble with grey veining and warm cream patches drifting through body and ears. A single beast on its slab is what this price covers.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eA Frieze With Nothing Above It\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eMost carved friezes in this range run round a pedestal and are seen at an angle from below. This one is sunk into a low slab and is looked at almost straight down, which changes what it has to do. Seen from above, a shallow frieze reads as a flat pattern and loses its depth entirely, so the acanthus here is cut deeper than a pedestal frieze would be and its stems are undercut hard at the turns, giving the shadow somewhere to sit when the light comes from overhead. It is also the one carved surface on the piece that people will walk past within inches of, so it is finished finer than anything on the animal.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThere is no pedestal here, so this elephant stands at close to its own natural height and reads as an animal rather than as a monument. That suits open space: a lawn, a wide gravel sweep, the middle of a courtyard, a clearing among trees. Put it against a wall and the effect goes - a life-size animal needs room around it to be believable. At 210cm on a low slab the animal is close to full life size and reads as such. The low slab means the acanthus frieze sits at ankle height, so keep it clear of mower lines and gravel wash.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eClose to Life Size, on the Ground\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eNineteen to twenty-one weeks. Sinking the acanthus frieze into the slab face precedes the beast, so the frieze answers to nothing above it. The animal is roughed standing on the finished slab, legs left as thick columns, and the body modelled naturalistically - shoulder, hip and the fall of the skin read as anatomy rather than as pattern. The ears are spread and thinned after the body is complete. The saddle-cloth is sunk into the back, the head cut, and the hanging trunk left until last because it curls clear of the base and is the one part that cannot be leaned on. No pinning and no filler occur in beast or slab, and no joint is concealed anywhere. About 5,404kg for a single animal on its slab, which a crane will bed onto a prepared concrete pad. Our main studios are in the UK (Birmingham) and Dubai, with additional global workshops.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNaturalistic beasts appear within \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/animal-sculptures\"\u003eanimal sculptures\u003c\/a\u003e, and slab-mounted pieces 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\u003e210cm\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":53835196301659,"sku":"MST-ANI-080","price":35053.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0869\/3383\/2027\/files\/MST-ANI-080_1.jpg?v=1787590621","url":"https:\/\/giant-sculptures.com\/products\/naturalistic-elephant-marble-statue-210cm","provider":"Giant Sculptures","version":"1.0","type":"link"}