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What we carve
Religious & Deity Statues for Temples and Family Altars
Guanyin, Buddha, Mazu, Guandi and custom deities, carved to your iconography and proportions — for temple halls, roadside shrines and family altars.
Religious figures are usually the least flexible kind of commission and the most important to get right. Iconography, proportion, mudra, the number and arrangement of attributes — these follow a canon, and a figure that is visually beautiful but iconographically wrong is a failed piece.
So this work starts with a conversation rather than a quotation. Send us your reference: an existing figure to match, a temple drawing, a sketch, or a set of measurements taken from the piece the new one will stand beside. If the proportions must follow a specific canon, we will confirm the measurements with you in writing before the maquette is made.
- Iconography, proportion and mudra confirmed against your reference before modelling starts
- Single-piece carving up to roughly 2.5 m; larger works carved in numbered sections
- Section joints planned at the modelling stage, not improvised on site
- Assembly drawings and numbered block markings supplied with multi-section pieces
From the workshop
Work in progress on this line
Practicalities
Specification at a glance
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Figures | Guanyin, Buddha, Mazu, Guandi, Weituo, guardian figures, and custom deities |
| Typical settings | Temple halls, roadside shrines, family altars, memorial rooms |
| Working height (single piece) | Up to roughly 2.5 m in suitable stone |
| Working height (sectioned) | Larger figures carved in two to seven blocks |
| Reference we need | An existing figure to match, a drawing, or measured proportions |
| Stones | Grey granite for exposed sites; white marble and sandstone for sheltered interiors |
| Finishes | Fine-tooled, honed or polished; gilding and colouring arranged with your finishing contractor |
| Pricing | Quoted per piece after the reference and iconography are confirmed |
Questions we get asked
Can you match an existing figure in a temple?
Yes, and it is the most common way a religious commission starts. Send photographs from the front, both sides and the back, plus an overall height and any measurements you can take of the base and the head. Where the neighbouring figure sets the scale, we work to that.
How are large figures joined if they are carved in sections?
Section joints are planned while the figure is still a maquette. Each block is numbered and matched to an assembly drawing, and the joint lines are placed where they read least — under drapery folds, behind an attribute, or along the axis of a supporting element. Assembly on site is by your contractor, using our drawings.
Do you handle offerings, consecration or installation?
No — those fall to the temple or the commissioning body. We carve, finish, crate and document. We will supply drawings and loading photographs so your installation team can plan the lift.
Which stone should a temple figure be carved in?
For anything permanently outdoors, granite is the safe answer — it holds detail and survives rain, salt and freeze-thaw. Marble is the finer stone for detail but belongs under cover. We will recommend a specific stone once we know where the figure will stand.
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.