{"product_id":"seated-winged-lion-honey-marble-statue-205cm","title":"Seated Winged Lion Honey Marble Statue - 205cm","description":"\u003ch3\u003eDescription\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eA winged lion sits back on its haunches with its head turned to one side and its jaws parted, both wings raised from the shoulders and sweeping back in long tiered rows of feathers. The head is a lion's, with a full mane in deep combed waves and a broad muzzle, so this is a winged lion rather than a griffin. The tail curls round behind the haunch and the animal sits on a thin bevelled slab. The marble is a honey-amber beige with cream through the mane and grey clouding across the haunch.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eTwo Wings That Have to Match\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eA single wing can be carved to look right on its own terms. A pair cannot: the eye compares them instantly, and any difference in the height they reach, the angle they leave the shoulder at or the count of feathers in a row reads as a mistake rather than as nature. The difficulty is that the two wings are on opposite sides of a solid body, so the carver can never see both at once and cannot check one against the other by looking. They are worked instead against measured points taken off the spine and the shoulders, with the same template carried from one side to the other for every feather row, and both wings advance together row by row rather than one being finished first.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe wings on this lion go up and back, so the space it needs is not on the ground but above and behind it. Set under a canopy, a low branch or a soffit the wings hit the line of whatever is overhead and the piece looks cramped. Give it open sky and a clear background: a courtyard, the middle of a terrace, a lawn edge or a gateway with height. At 205cm seated the head is above eye level and the wings higher still, so it is seen from below and from the side it faces. The honey stone warms in low sun and the grey clouding reads more strongly in flat light.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eAir Above and Behind the Wings\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eTwenty to twenty-two weeks. The slab is cut and bevelled first and the seated mass roughed on it, with both wings left as solid blocks either side of the shoulders. Those blocks stay until very late: they are the most exposed part of the sculpture and the least able to survive a knock while the piece is being turned. The body, haunch and tail are finished, then the mane, worked from the outer locks inward. Only then are the wings taken down to their feather rows, both together, trailing edge first and forward, the same template carried across for each row. The head and the parted jaws are cut last. Nothing is pinned or filled - animal, wings, tail and slab all come out of one block. Our main studios are in the UK (Birmingham) and Dubai, with additional global workshops. Around 5,027kg in one piece, so a crane and a concrete footing are both needed before delivery.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOther winged beasts are in \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/animal-sculptures\"\u003eanimal sculptures\u003c\/a\u003e, and large pieces under \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/large-garden-statues\"\u003elarge garden 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\u003e205cm\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":53833742680411,"sku":"MST-ANI-045","price":37766.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0869\/3383\/2027\/files\/MST-ANI-045_1.jpg?v=1787152577","url":"https:\/\/giant-sculptures.com\/products\/seated-winged-lion-honey-marble-statue-205cm","provider":"Giant Sculptures","version":"1.0","type":"link"}