{"product_id":"seated-lion-with-a-calm-face-marble-statue-215cm","title":"Seated Lion With a Calm Face Marble Statue - 215cm","description":"\u003ch3\u003eDescription\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eA lion sits square to the front on a moulded pedestal with its mouth closed and its expression level rather than roaring. The mane is cut in long parallel waves falling symmetrically either side of the face to the chest, the forelegs are straight and the paws are set side by side at the front edge. The pedestal carries a run of leaf moulding under the cap and another above the stepped base. The marble is white with grey veining through the pedestal and the shoulders.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eA Closed Mouth Leaves Nowhere to Hide\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eAlmost every carved lion roars, and an open jaw does a lot of work for the carver: it draws the eye, it creates deep shadow, and it makes the animal read as fierce before anyone looks at the rest of the face. Close the mouth and all of that goes. The expression then rests entirely on the brow ridge, the set of the lids, the line where the lips meet and the breadth of the muzzle - four quiet things, each only a few millimetres of stone, and any one of them slightly wrong makes the animal look vacant rather than calm. So the face is the last thing carved and the slowest, and it is worked with the piece stood upright at its finished height so the carver sees it from where it will actually be seen.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA calm lion does a different job from a roaring one. It reads as settled rather than warning, which makes it easier to live with somewhere people pass every day - a front entrance, a courtyard, the head of steps, either side of a doorway. Because the pose is frontal and symmetrical it is composed to be met square on and loses most of its effect from the side. At 215cm on its pedestal the head sits above eye level, and the face is cut to be read from below rather than level with it. White marble with grey veining carries well against brick, render and dark planting.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eA Level Gaze at an Entrance\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eEighteen to twenty weeks. The pedestal is cut first and its two runs of leaf moulding worked - one above the stepped base and the other under the cap - each run carried round all four faces so the mitres meet. The lion is carved from its own block, roughed seated and frontal. Because the pose is symmetrical the two sides of the mane are cut in parallel rather than one being completed and then matched to it, since a face carved to the front shows any inequality at once. The forelegs and paws are brought to the front edge next. The face is left until last and cut with the piece standing at full height: brow, lids, lip line and muzzle, in that order, with long pauses to look. Our main studios are in the UK (Birmingham) and Dubai, with additional global workshops. Around 5,799kg across two parts, craned in order onto a prepared concrete foundation.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOther seated beasts stand in \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/animal-sculptures\"\u003eanimal sculptures\u003c\/a\u003e, with the classical work in \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/classic-sculptures\"\u003eclassic 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\u003e215cm\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":53833347465563,"sku":"MST-ANI-042","price":35262.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0869\/3383\/2027\/files\/MST-ANI-042_1.jpg?v=1787150644","url":"https:\/\/giant-sculptures.com\/products\/seated-lion-with-a-calm-face-marble-statue-215cm","provider":"Giant Sculptures","version":"1.0","type":"link"}