{"product_id":"seated-lion-with-a-scrolled-cartouche-marble-statue-210cm","title":"Seated Lion With a Scrolled Cartouche Marble Statue - 210cm","description":"\u003ch3\u003eDescription\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eA lion sits erect on its haunches with its head turned outward and its mouth closed, one forepaw laid over the top of a tall cartouche standing upright beside it. The cartouche is carved with an acanthus spray inside a moulded frame and rolls over into a scroll at its foot. The mane falls in long combed waves to the chest. Animal and cartouche sit on a moulded pedestal with a stepped base. The marble is a warm beige with grey veining through the pedestal and the cartouche. The price covers a single lion with its pedestal.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eCarving Something That Has Curled\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe cartouche is a scroll: at its foot the stone rolls over on itself as a sheet of something flexible would, and the whole point of the form is that it looks as though it has curled. Marble has not curled and cannot. So the illusion is built from an undercut - the roll is cut back underneath until the sheet appears to lift free of what is behind it, and the thickness left at that point is the thinnest stone anywhere on the piece. Too little and the roll breaks under its own weight during finishing; too much and it reads as a lump rather than a curl. The carver takes it down in small passes and stops as soon as a shadow appears under the lip, because that shadow is the whole effect.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe cartouche is the reason for this piece and it faces outward, so put it where it can be seen square on rather than edge on. A gate pier, the end of a wall, either side of an entrance or the head of steps all work, with the animal turned so the acanthus face meets the approach. At 210cm overall the cartouche sits at about chest to shoulder height, close enough that the acanthus and the moulded frame are worth looking at. The warm beige marble sits comfortably against brick, gravel and render, and the grey veining shows more clearly on the pedestal than on the animal.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eA Cartouche Wants to Be Read\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eEighteen to twenty weeks. The pedestal is cut and its mouldings run first, on all faces, and its bed worked flat. The figure and its cartouche come from a separate block: the seated mass is blocked out with the cartouche standing beside it as a plain tablet, and that tablet carries the piece's stability through most of the work. The mane is separated next, outer locks inward. The tablet is then shaped - frame moulding first, then the acanthus spray sunk inside it, then the roll at the foot undercut last of all. The forepaw is cut over the top edge afterwards so the grip is carved rather than fitted. No part of the figure is pinned, filled or joined. Our main studios are in the UK (Birmingham) and Dubai, with additional global workshops. Around 4,002kg across two parts, each set by crane onto a prepared concrete foundation.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMore heraldic beasts sit in \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/animal-sculptures\"\u003eanimal sculptures\u003c\/a\u003e, and tall work 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\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":53833746284891,"sku":"MST-ANI-047","price":30602.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0869\/3383\/2027\/files\/MST-ANI-047_1.jpg?v=1787590591","url":"https:\/\/giant-sculptures.com\/products\/seated-lion-with-a-scrolled-cartouche-marble-statue-210cm","provider":"Giant Sculptures","version":"1.0","type":"link"}