{"product_id":"standing-lion-in-grey-clouded-marble-statue-140cm","title":"Standing Lion in Grey-Clouded Marble Statue - 140cm","description":"\u003ch3\u003eDescription\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eA lion stands with its head turned outward and its jaws wide in a roar, the mane cut in deep rippled locks that lift away from the neck and fall in a long fringe at the chest. The body is modelled lean through the flank and hindquarters and the tail hangs low and finishes in a tuft. Beneath it is a thin slab cut square. Its stone is a white marble carrying heavy grey clouding across the back and the flank, in places covering as much of the surface as the white does. A single lion is supplied; two flank a gateway.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eClouding You Can Only Place\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eOn most veined stone the carver steers the strongest marking away from the parts that matter. There is too much of it here for that. The clouding covers a large share of the block, so it cannot be avoided - only placed, and the placing was decided before the first cut by turning the wet block until the heaviest cloud fell across the back and flank rather than over the face. The second problem follows from the first: where a dark cloud crosses a carved edge it swallows the shadow that makes the edge visible. So the mane locks that run through the clouded side are cut deeper than their equivalents on the white side - unequal in the stone, so that they read as equal to the eye.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMost stone here wants low, raking sun to bring the carving up. This one does not. Its contrast already comes from the clouding, and strong side light adds a second pattern of shadow that fights the first, so the animal reads as busy and hard to follow. Even light suits it: north-facing, open shade, a courtyard that never gets direct sun, or indoors. Against a plain backdrop rather than a busy one, for the same reason. At 140cm at the shoulder it meets an adult at chest height and the thin slab lets it stand straight onto paving or gravel.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eEven Light, Not Raking Light\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eFourteen to sixteen weeks, and the block is turned and wetted repeatedly before anything is cut, to decide where the clouding will fall. The slab is cut and the animal roughed standing on it, belly kept clear. The flank and hindquarters are brought down lean, then the mane, worked from the outer locks inward - and worked to two different depths, deeper where the cloud runs through it so the locks read evenly across the piece. The chest fringe is undercut after that and the tail tuft cut clear of the leg. The head and open jaw are last. Nothing is pinned or filled - animal, tail and slab come from one block. Our main studios are in the UK (Birmingham) and Dubai, with additional global workshops. Around 1,601kg as one piece, set down by gantry and bedded onto a prepared concrete footing.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMore standing beasts are in \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/animal-sculptures\"\u003eanimal sculptures\u003c\/a\u003e, and veined stone under \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/marble-sculptures\"\u003emarble 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\u003e140cm\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":53833765454171,"sku":"MST-ANI-055","price":26011.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0869\/3383\/2027\/files\/MST-ANI-055_1.jpg?v=1787152586","url":"https:\/\/giant-sculptures.com\/products\/standing-lion-in-grey-clouded-marble-statue-140cm","provider":"Giant Sculptures","version":"1.0","type":"link"}