{"product_id":"seated-lion-with-a-sphere-white-marble-statue-120cm","title":"Seated Lion With a Sphere White Marble Statue - 120cm","description":"\u003ch3\u003eDescription\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eA lion sits square to the front with its chest out and its jaws open, one forepaw resting on top of a large sphere. The mane is cut in long parallel waves that fall symmetrically either side of the face, the brows and whiskers are incised, and the tail curls in against the flank. It sits on a rectangular plinth with a bevelled top edge. The marble is white, with faint grey veining that shows mainly across the sphere and the plinth.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eA True Sphere, Cut From the Same Block\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe ball under the paw is not applied and not turned on a lathe - it is the same piece of marble as the lion, and it has to be made round by hand while still attached to it. The carver works it as a cube first, then knocks the corners to an octagon, then to sixteen faces, and keeps halving until the facets are too small to see, checking constantly with a cardboard template cut to the finished radius. It cannot be rolled or turned to test it, because one side stays joined to the paw and to the plinth the whole time. That joint is also structural: it is what carries the weight of the raised shoulder down through the sphere and into the plinth, so it is deliberately left generous rather than undercut for looks.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis lion is carved frontally - the mane is symmetrical, the chest faces forward and the sphere sits square - so it is composed to be approached from directly in front and loses most of its effect seen from the side. That makes it a doorway or gateway piece: one either side of an entrance, at the head of steps, or centred at the end of a short walk. At 120cm seated it is roughly waist to chest height, close enough that the incised brows and whiskers are worth looking at. White marble carries best against brick, dark render or planting rather than against pale stone.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eBuilt to Be Met Head-On\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eEleven to thirteen weeks. The plinth is cut and squared first, then the seated mass is roughed on it, with the sphere left as a cube in the front corner. Because the pose is symmetrical the carver works both sides of the mane in the same session rather than finishing one and copying it, which is the only reliable way to keep a frontal face even. The sphere is brought to round in stages, alternating with the paw above it so the two meet correctly rather than one being fitted to the other. Face, brows and whiskers are cut last, when nothing further needs to be leaned on. The faint grey veining is left as it falls and not evened out. Lion, sphere and plinth all come from one block, with nothing pinned or filled. Our main studios are in the UK (Birmingham) and Dubai, with additional global workshops. Around 1,008kg in a single block, gantry-lifted and bedded onto a prepared concrete footing.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMore seated beasts are in \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/animal-sculptures\"\u003eanimal sculptures\u003c\/a\u003e, and entrance pieces under \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\u003e120cm\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":53832724513115,"sku":"MST-ANI-024","price":18778.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0869\/3383\/2027\/files\/MST-ANI-024_1.jpg?v=1787147749","url":"https:\/\/giant-sculptures.com\/products\/seated-lion-with-a-sphere-white-marble-statue-120cm","provider":"Giant Sculptures","version":"1.0","type":"link"}