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What we carve
Portrait Statues & Busts Carved from Photographs
Likeness-carved busts, half-figures and life-size standing statues in marble, granite and sandstone. The likeness is agreed in clay before any stone is cut.
Most portrait commissions begin with photographs rather than a live sitting. Send us a front view, a three-quarter view and a profile if you have them, plus any notes on expression, dress or the period you want reflected. If all you have is one good photograph, we will tell you honestly what it can and cannot support.
For a live sitting we can work from measurements and our own photographs, but that means a trip or a very well-selected set of images. In practice, three clear photographs taken in even light at the same distance give a better result than a rushed sitting.
- Clay maquette at 1:5 or full size, photographed from four angles and approved before carving
- Photographs at every carving stage, dated, so you can see progress rather than ask about it
- White marble, grey granite or sandstone — the block is selected for the setting, not taken off the top of the pile
- Honed, polished or bush-hammered finish, agreed at the quoting stage
From the workshop
Work in progress on this line
Practicalities
Specification at a glance
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Typical finished heights | 40 cm desk busts through to 3 m outdoor standing figures |
| Sittings | Not required if you can supply clear photographs; live sitting available by arrangement |
| Stones | White marble, grey granite, sandstone |
| Finishes | Honed, polished, bush-hammered, or a combination across one piece |
| Smaller pieces | Busts up to about 60 cm ship in a single crate, air or sea freight |
| Larger pieces | Figures over roughly 1.2 m are carved in one piece where the stone allows, and in sections where it does not |
| Pricing | Quoted per piece after we see the reference and the finished height |
Questions we get asked
Can you carve a portrait from one photograph?
Sometimes, but a single flat photograph leaves gaps — the back of the head, the depth of the eye socket, the set of the ear. We will tell you what we can do with what you send, and ask for two more views if the piece needs them. It is better to send four photographs and have us discard two than to send one and hope.
How close is a carved portrait to the person?
As close as the reference material and the stone allow. A maquette at 1:5 lets you judge the likeness while it is still clay, which is the point of making it. What you approve in clay is what gets carved — changes after the stone is cut are limited to surface and detail.
How long does a portrait commission take?
It depends on size, stone and how quickly the maquette stage closes. A desk bust and a three-metre standing figure are not comparable jobs. We give a realistic timeline at the quoting stage, and we will say if a date is not physically possible rather than after you have paid a deposit.
Do you ship overseas?
Yes. Most of our work now goes to Vietnam and Taiwan, China. Pieces ship on FOB terms from Xiamen or Fuzhou, and we can also work with your own forwarder on CIF or door-to-door terms.
How to start
Send a photograph or drawing of the subject, the finished height you want, your preferred stone if you have one, and the destination port or city. If you would rather talk it through first, email us at sales@yantangstone.com and we will ask for what we need.
Send us the reference, and we will tell you what is possible
We would rather say no at the quoting stage than take a deposit for something the stone cannot hold. Send your reference and we will give you a straight answer.