{"product_id":"roaring-couchant-lion-pink-marble-statue-175cm","title":"Roaring Couchant Lion Pink Marble Statue - 175cm","description":"\u003ch3\u003eDescription\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eA lion lies couchant with its forelegs stretched out ahead, one paw crossed over the other, its head turned to the side and its jaws open in a roar. The mane is cut in broad flame-like locks that lift away from the neck rather than lying flat against it, and the tail curls round the haunch and back over the rump. It rests on a rectangular plinth with a plain moulded top. The marble is a warm pink, with grey veins running diagonally through the haunch, the tail and the plinth.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eReading the Veins Before the First Cut\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eA pink marble like this one is veined, and the veins are not decoration that can be moved later - they are inside the block and they will surface wherever the carving happens to reach them. So the block is read before anything is cut. It is wetted, which brings the veins up clearly, and turned until the carver finds the orientation that keeps the strongest grey band out of the face and away from the open jaw, where a dark line across the muzzle would read as a crack to anyone looking at it. On this piece the bands were steered into the haunch, the tail and the plinth, where they run with the form and look like what they are. That decision is made once, at the start, and cannot be revisited.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eCouchant means the whole animal is stretched along the ground, so this is a long piece rather than a tall one and it needs run rather than headroom. At 175cm it will not read properly tucked into a corner or set against a busy border; give it a clear length of paving, a terrace edge, a wide step or the top of a retaining wall, approached from the side so the stretched forelegs and the curled tail both show. Pink marble warms in low sun and goes flat under a grey sky, so a position that catches morning or evening light is worth more here than a sheltered one.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eA Long, Low Animal Needs Length\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eFourteen to sixteen weeks, and the reading of the block accounts for the first few days of it before any stone comes off. The plinth is squared first and the animal roughed lying on it, so the body is supported along its full length throughout. The forelegs are the exposed part of a couchant lion: they run out ahead of the mass with the crossed paw on top, so they are left thick until the mane behind them is done and the piece will not need turning again. The mane locks are separated next, working outward so each finished lock is clear of the tool. Head and jaw are last, with the tongue and teeth cut through a narrow opening. Nothing is pinned or filled - animal, tail and plinth come from one block. Our main studios are in the UK (Birmingham) and Dubai, with additional global workshops. Around 3,127kg in one piece, so it needs a crane and a concrete foundation cast beneath it.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOther resting beasts sit in \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/animal-sculptures\"\u003eanimal sculptures\u003c\/a\u003e, and the coloured stone under \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/marble-sculptures\"\u003emarble 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\u003e175cm\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":53832724447579,"sku":"MST-ANI-022","price":26846.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0869\/3383\/2027\/files\/MST-ANI-022_1.jpg?v=1787147748","url":"https:\/\/giant-sculptures.com\/products\/roaring-couchant-lion-pink-marble-statue-175cm","provider":"Giant Sculptures","version":"1.0","type":"link"}