{"product_id":"roaring-lion-with-a-chiselled-base-marble-statue-210cm","title":"Roaring Lion With a Chiselled Base Marble Statue - 210cm","description":"\u003ch3\u003eDescription\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eA lion stands with its head turned to one side and its jaws wide, the mane cut in long combed waves that sweep back from the brow and fall in a heavy fringe at the chest. The ribs and shoulder show through the coat, the flank is lean, and the tail rises into a high open loop behind the haunch. It stands on a slab whose edge is dressed in a pitched zigzag of chisel cuts rather than left smooth. The marble is a cream-beige with rust-brown mottling across the flank and shoulder.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eA Rough Edge Is a Decision, Not a Shortcut\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe slab edge on this piece is deliberately left rough while everything above it is brought smooth, and the two finishes are made with different tools working in different ways. The animal is cut and then rubbed down with abrasives, which removes material by wearing it away. The slab edge is struck with a pitching tool - a blunt wedge driven hard, which breaks stone off in flakes rather than grinding it - and the zigzag comes from advancing the tool along the edge at a set angle, blow by blow. It cannot be rehearsed and it cannot be corrected: a flake that runs too deep stays. So it is done last, when the carving above it is finished and there is nothing left to lose.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe chisel-dressed slab makes this lion look as though it has been set into rock, so it sits well straight onto gravel, into low planting or at the edge of a bank, where the rough edge runs into real ground rather than sitting on a finished floor. On smooth paving the contrast works against it. At 210cm this is a large animal and it needs distance - somewhere you see it from twenty paces as well as from arm's length, so a drive, a lawn or the far end of a walk rather than a small courtyard. The rust-brown mottling deepens with weathering.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eA Large Lion With Its Own Ground\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eTwenty to twenty-two weeks. The slab is cut oversize and left with a plain edge while the animal is roughed standing on it, so there is a square edge to clamp and lift against through the heavy work. Ribs, shoulder and flank are modelled next, the mottling left exactly where it falls in the stone rather than being cut around. The mane follows, worked from the outer locks inward, and the chest fringe is undercut after it. Once the body will not need turning again the tail loop is opened out, working alternately on its inner and its outer face so the web of stone is never loaded from one side only. The head and jaws are the last of the animal to be cut. The pitched edge on the slab is then struck, working along all four sides. Nothing is pinned or filled - lion, tail and slab are one block. Our main studios are in the UK (Birmingham) and Dubai, with additional global workshops. Around 5,404kg as a single block, which needs a crane and a concrete footing beneath it.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOther standing beasts are in \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/animal-sculptures\"\u003eanimal sculptures\u003c\/a\u003e, and large outdoor pieces 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\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":53833347203419,"sku":"MST-ANI-040","price":35053.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0869\/3383\/2027\/files\/MST-ANI-040_1.jpg?v=1787150643","url":"https:\/\/giant-sculptures.com\/products\/roaring-lion-with-a-chiselled-base-marble-statue-210cm","provider":"Giant Sculptures","version":"1.0","type":"link"}