{"product_id":"winged-lion-with-a-raised-wing-marble-statue-115cm","title":"Winged Lion With a Raised Wing Marble Statue - 115cm","description":"\u003ch3\u003eDescription\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eResting back upon a thin slab, a winged lion lifts one wing high and turns its head outward. One forepaw is laid over the top of an upright scrolled cartouche carved with a spray of flame-like foliage. A single wing rises high above the shoulder through long tiered rows of feathers and curves forward at the tip. The head is feline and maneless, with a scaled ruff at the neck. A feline skull rules out the griffin entirely, leaving a winged lion without a mane. Beneath it lies a thin slab cut square. Its marble is white with a cream warmth to it, smooth and satin, holding soft grey shading down in the recesses.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eOne Wing Up Makes the Piece Lopsided\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eA pair of raised wings balances: the mass either side of the spine is equal and the piece sits square on the bench however it is turned. This beast has one wing up and the other folded away, so the weight is off-centre from the moment the block is roughed, and it stays off-centre for the whole of the carving. The consequence is practical rather than aesthetic. The piece has to be shimmed and re-shimmed on the bench as material comes off, because the centre of gravity moves as the wing is thinned; and the upright cartouche on the opposite side is left full thickness until the wing is finished, because it is the only thing keeping the sculpture from wanting to lie down.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAt 115cm this is the smallest beast in the range and the only one an ordinary floor will take without thought - under a tonne, and short enough to sit in a hall, a landing, a porch or a conservatory as easily as on a terrace. Indoors is where the smooth satin finish and the ivory warmth of the stone actually show; outdoors they wash out. Put it where the raised wing has clear air above it and where the approach comes from the side the head is turned towards. Against a plain wall rather than a papered or panelled one.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eSmall Enough to Bring Indoors\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eTen to twelve weeks. Squaring the slab and standing the cartouche upon it opens the work, and the seated beast is roughed against that upright afterwards. The wing is blocked out as a solid slab standing above the shoulder and left at full thickness through the body work. Haunch and chest are finished before the folded far wing is separated behind them. The cartouche is then carved - the volutes at head and foot first, the foliage spray sunk into its face afterwards - and the forepaw cut down over its top edge so the grip is carved rather than fitted. Only then is the raised wing taken down to its feather rows, trailing edge first, with the piece re-shimmed between passes as the balance shifts. The head and ruff are cut last. The whole of it, cartouche and slab included, is free of pins, fillers and joints. Our main studios are in the UK (Birmingham) and Dubai, with additional global workshops. Some 888kg, the lightest here, which two people and a gantry can settle onto a prepared footing.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eCompact winged beasts gather in \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/animal-sculptures\"\u003eanimal sculptures\u003c\/a\u003e, and indoor-scale carving in \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/indoor-sculptures\"\u003eindoor 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\u003e115cm\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":53834315956571,"sku":"MST-ANI-061","price":21630.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0869\/3383\/2027\/files\/MST-ANI-061_1.jpg?v=1787154668","url":"https:\/\/giant-sculptures.com\/products\/winged-lion-with-a-raised-wing-marble-statue-115cm","provider":"Giant Sculptures","version":"1.0","type":"link"}