{"product_id":"standing-lion-on-a-swagged-pedestal-marble-statue-210cm","title":"Standing Lion on a Swagged Pedestal Marble Statue - 210cm","description":"\u003ch3\u003eDescription\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eHigh upon a swagged pedestal a lion stands roaring, a carved stump braced beneath its chest. The mane falls in deep rippled locks past the chest, the body is lean through the flank, and the tail lifts and curves out behind. The pedestal carries a carved frieze of leaf swags either side of a central rosette, with a further rosette on the return face. The stone is a bright white marble with faint grey veining. You are looking at two of them; the figure quoted buys a single lion upon its pedestal.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eA Frieze That Has to Come Out Even\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe swags and rosettes on this pedestal repeat, and repetition is where hand carving is caught out. Cut the swags one after another by eye and each will be a fraction wider than the last, so by the return face the rosette no longer sits at the centre and the error is on display at the corner. So none of it is carved until all of it is set out: the face is divided with dividers, the rosette centred, the swags stepped off either side and adjusted until the same measure fits both faces, and every swag's springing point marked. The carving then proceeds in passes across the whole frieze rather than swag by swag, which holds them to a common depth as well as a common width.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe tree stump under this lion's chest is structural - it is what stops a standing animal in stone from having to carry its own belly across an unsupported span - but it is also carved as bark and meant to read as part of the scene. Set the piece so the stump side is visible rather than turned to a wall, or the carving looks as though it is hiding a prop. At 210cm the animal stands well above head height, so it is composed to be looked up at from in front and to one side. Bright white marble needs something dark behind it: a hedge, brick, deep planting.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eA Stump That Wants to Be Seen\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eTwenty to twenty-two weeks. Setting out the pedestal frieze with dividers precedes any carving, so that swags and rosette arrive evenly round the face. The mouldings are run once the frieze is cut, and the bed on top is worked flat and proved before the animal is made. The lion comes from its own block: roughed standing with the stump left as a solid mass under the chest, and then flank and hind leg are cut lean, and the mane divided afterwards lock by lock. The stump is carved as bark near the end, after the body above it is finished and it no longer has to be gripped. The tail is freed from the haunch last of the animal, and the head turned after that. Animal, stump and pedestal alike are free of pins, dowels, fillers and hidden joints. Our main studios are in the UK (Birmingham) and Dubai, with additional global workshops. Some 5,404kg for one lion and pedestal, craned down in turn onto a poured concrete footing.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNeighbouring pedestal groups occupy \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/animal-sculptures\"\u003eanimal sculptures\u003c\/a\u003e, and the tallest work fills \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\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":"Version 1","offer_id":53872386244955,"sku":"MST-ANI-063-V1","price":35053.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Version 2","offer_id":53872386277723,"sku":"MST-ANI-063-V2","price":35053.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0869\/3383\/2027\/files\/MST-ANI-063_1.jpg?v=1787590607","url":"https:\/\/giant-sculptures.com\/products\/standing-lion-on-a-swagged-pedestal-marble-statue-210cm","provider":"Giant Sculptures","version":"1.0","type":"link"}