Inside our workshop in Quyang, Hebei
How a block of marble becomes a finished statue
No moulds, no castings, no resin. Every sculpture we ship is cut from a solid natural marble block and carved by hand — from the first clay study to the final pass of wet sandpaper. What follows is the exact sequence our carvers work through, photographed on our own factory floor.
Case study — life-size marble Virgin Mary
Eight stages, from quarry block to crated statue
A religious commission is the hardest test of a workshop. The face has to carry an expression, the drapery has to fall convincingly, and the client usually knows exactly how the figure should look before we start. Here is how we built one.
Selecting the marble block
The statue is decided here, before anyone picks up a chisel. Our stone buyer selects a natural block in the marble the client has approved — Hunan white, Sichuan white, Carrara, beige or antique — and inspects it in daylight for hairline cracks, iron spots and the direction of the vein.
- Tapped with a hammer: a clear ring means sound stone, a dull thud means an internal flaw
- Vein direction planned so no line cuts across the face or hands
- Block cut oversize on every axis, so the carver is never short of stone
Sculpting the full-size clay model
For any figurative piece we build a clay model first, at the same scale as the finished statue. Posture, proportion, the tilt of the head, the fall of the veil and the expression are all resolved in clay — the one material where a change costs an afternoon instead of a block of marble.
- Modelled from your photographs, drawings or a church's existing statue
- Photographed from front, back and both sides and sent to you for approval
- Revised in clay as many times as needed — nothing is cut until you sign off
- The approved model stays beside the block as the carver's master reference
Rough-cutting the stone
The block is squared up and the waste stone is taken off with a large saw. Working from the front and side elevations of the clay model, the carver cuts down to a rough silhouette of the figure — the height of the head, the width of the shoulders, the spread of the robe at the base.
- Generous margin left on every surface for the carving stages to come
- Base squared and levelled early, so the statue stands true from the outset
Shaping the human figure
Measurements now move off the clay model and onto the stone. Using calipers, a plumb line and a centre line drawn down the block, the carver fixes the position of the crown of the head, the shoulders, the hips, the hands and the hem of the robe, then cuts the volumes back until the figure reads correctly from every angle.
- Key points transferred from the clay model to within a few millimetres
- Proportion checked from four sides and from below, as the statue will be viewed
Rough carving the form
With a pneumatic hammer and point chisel the carver brings out the real form: the fall of the veil, the folds gathering at the elbow, the separation between the arms and the body, the drape breaking over the feet. It is fast, physical work, and it is where the statue stops being a block and starts being a figure.
- Roughly 1.5–2 cm of stone deliberately left everywhere for the detail carver
- Undercuts opened up carefully so no fold is left unsupported and liable to chip
Hand carving the details
This stage belongs to our most senior sculptors, and it is the longest one. The face, the eyelids, the line of the mouth, the fingers, the edge of the veil and the folds around the wrists are cut entirely with hand chisels and rifflers. Nothing here can be rushed or automated — it is the difference between a statue that looks carved and one that looks alive.
- Faces are carved only by sculptors with decades of figurative experience
- Fingers, rosary beads and veil edges cut with fine hand tools, never machine bits
- Work reviewed against the clay model at eye level, in natural light
Sanding and surface finishing
The carving is worked through progressively finer grits, wet-sanded by hand so that every fold and undercut is reached. The finish is chosen to suit where the statue will stand: a soft honed surface for church interiors, a full polish for a bright, reflective look, or an antique treatment for a weathered, older appearance.
- Grits stepped up in sequence — tool marks removed, carved detail preserved
- Honed, polished or antique finish, specified before production begins
Final inspection and export packing
The finished statue is checked against the approved clay model and the dimension drawing, then photographed and filmed from every side for you to review before anything is crated. Only once you are satisfied do we wrap it in foam and soft padding and build a wooden crate around it for ocean freight.
- Dimensions, finish and detail signed off against the approved drawings
- Photos and video sent to you before packing — no surprises on arrival
- Multi-layer foam wrap inside wooden crates over 3 cm thick, numbered for assembly
A machine can rough out a body. Only a carver can give it a face.
Our workshop keeps more than fifty full-time sculptors, most of whom have spent their working lives carving stone in Quyang, China's sculpture town. Figurative work — faces, hands, drapery, animals — is assigned to the carvers who specialise in it, and the same person stays with a piece from rough carving through to final detail.
Trevi Art Sculpture — carving in Quyang since 1983Have a piece in mind?
Send us a photograph, a sketch or a reference statue with the height you need. We'll come back with the stone options, a price range and a realistic production schedule.
Second case — marble lion statues
The same discipline applied to a pair of guardian lions
Lions are usually ordered in matched pairs, which makes symmetry the hardest part of the job. Both animals are carved alongside each other, from the same block colour, and compared constantly so the finished pair reads as a set rather than two separate statues.
Design and proportion planning
Stance, mane volume, head angle and plinth height are drawn to scale against the entrance or driveway the lions will guard.
Rough carving
The body, haunches and head are cut out of the block, with the mane left as a solid mass to be opened up later.
Hand carving the details
Mane curls, claws, teeth, muscle definition and the expression of the face are cut by hand, one chisel at a time.
Fine refinement
The pair is set side by side and refined until both lions match in height, mane depth and pose, then taken to the final finish.
Final inspection
Measured against the drawing, checked for chips and colour consistency, photographed for approval, then crated as a pair.
Third case — angel headstones and monuments
Memorial work, where accuracy matters as much as artistry
A headstone has to satisfy cemetery regulations as well as a family. Dimensions are cut to the approved plot size, inscriptions are proofread before they are carved, and the angel figure is worked to the same standard as any gallery piece.
Proportion and stone cutting
The block is cut to the plot dimensions you supply, with the angel, the tablet and the base planned as one composition.
Rough carving
The angel is blocked out of the stone — the pose, the sweep of the wings and the position of the hands all established first.
Hand carving the details
Face, hair, individual feathers, hands and any relief flowers or crosses are carved by hand, together with the lettering layout.
Surface polishing
Flat faces are polished for legibility and weather resistance, while carved areas are honed so the detail stays readable in daylight.
Final inspection
Names, dates and spelling are checked against your written approval, dimensions verified, then the monument is packed for shipping.
One process, every category we make
A fountain, a gazebo column and a portrait bust are very different objects, but they go through the same controlled sequence: stone selection, a model or scaled drawing you approve, rough cutting, hand carving, finishing, inspection and export crating. No category is treated as a shortcut, and no piece leaves the workshop without photographs sent to the client first.
That is also why we are comfortable quoting custom work. The process does not change — only the subject does.
Start your project with our carvers
Tell us the subject, the height and where the piece will stand. We'll advise on the right marble, send reference photos of comparable work, and confirm what the clay-model stage will look like for your commission.
Typical reply time: within one business day.