Size in cm: 47w x 20h x 44d cm
Size in inches: 18½"w x 7¾"h x 17½"d
Weight: 22kg / 48lb
Edition: 95
Material: Foundry Cast Bronze
This exquisite, life-sized portrait of a Setter perfectly captures the happy spirit of a comfortable Setter curled up in their favourite‘small ball’ pose, a classic signature of the breed.
Anyone who has ever loved a Setter will instantly recognize this familiar position as their much loved companion has subtly, and insistently, claimed the sofa, bed, or rug in front of the fire!
Sculpted by artist Elizabeth Foster, ‘Lying Setter’ has been carefully hand cast in bronze using the traditional lost wax method of casting in our British foundr. Each casting takes eight to twelve weeks to create, and a new mould is created for every casting, making each casting unique.
This life sized sculpture makes a striking statement, wherever it is displayed - whether in a cosy corner inside, or perhaps relaxing in a sunny spot in the garden.
Limited to just 95 castings worldwide, each casting is stamped with the artist’s signature, our ‘NF’ maker’s mark, and its own unique edition number.
Each casting will be carefully packed into a custom made robust wooden shipping crate, ensuring it arrives with you in pristine condition, and arrives with an indivudually numbered certificate of authenticity, hand signed by the artist, Elizabeth Foster. This certificate, along with the unique edition number engraved on the sculpture, is your guarantee that this is an original Nelson & Forbes casting of an Elizabeth Foster sculpture that she has personally approved.
As with all of our sculpture, delivery of this piece is free worldwide.
Elizabeth Foster was born in Guernsey and has been undertaking commissioned portraits of adults, children and animals for more than 40 years.
She trained in sculpture at Beckenham School of Arts and Lewisham Collegefrom 1969 and continued to refine her style from 1975 in Dubai, where she was a member of the Nine Artists of Dubai. There she exhibited extensively and undertook her first commission portraits.
1979 saw Elizabeth return to the UK, where she trained under Gerda Rubenstein, until she moved to her studio in Buckinghamshire in 1984, where she still lives and works today. She continues to work on commissions to this day, including sculpting an eye-catching trophy featuring a trio of prancing horses for the Royal International Horse Show.
When not working on commissions, Elizabeth sculpts what inspires her for her own pleasure, often the animals that share her life.
Creation of your bronze sculpture
Every time we cast a piece, a new mould is created and subsequently destroyed. This means that every single piece of sculpture bought from us is entirely hand made and utterly unique, which is why it is numbered by hand to tell you which casting of the edition you have bought.
1. Mould Making
A silicone rubber mould is made of the original art work. Absolutely every detail captured or missed by this mould will be reproduced in the bronze castings. Depending on the size of the mould, it may then be cut into sections for casting.
This is the master mould used to originate all castings of that piece. Each time that piece is ordered, we follow the following procedure:
2. Making the Wax Casting
Molten wax is poured into the rubber to create an exact wax duplicate of the original model.
3. Chasing the Wax
The wax is removed from the rubber mould any flaws are hand finished by a skilled craftsman.
4. Spruing
Wax rods and a wax pouring cup are carefully attached to the wax casting in just the right positions to allow bronze to be poured in any displaced air to escape. This means that no air bubbles are trapped inside the mould as they would be gaps in the finished bronze piece.
5. Investment
The wax model with attached rods is now covered in ceramic material which will form the mould for the final bronze pour. This is done by dipping the wax model carefully into investment liquid and then covering it in a fine powder before allowing it to cure (completely dry). The model is then dipped into investment liquid again and given a coating of a coarse ceramic powder. By following this procedure several times, a ceramic shell is built up around the wax model.
6. Burn-Out
The wax inside the ceramic shell is then placed in a kiln and fired. The shell bakes and the wax is melted (lost) from the shell. This creates a hollow ceramic shell mould and accounts for the term "Lost Wax" being applied to the process.
7. Casting
The ceramic mould is removed from the kiln and molten bronze is immediately poured into it, at 1200°C.
8. Break Out
Once the casting has been allowed to cool for several hours, the mould is carefully removed by hand from the bronze model inside.
9. Sandblasting
Any fragments of the ceramic shell are removed by sandblasting and the sculpture is carefully inspected at this point.
10. Assembly
All attached rods and cups (which are now bronze) are removed by hand. At this point, any segments of a large sculpture that has been cast in sections are welded together.
11.Chasing
All the weld marks and removed and rod marks are chased and re-detailed by hand. Any scars left by the rods are carefully blended to match the rest of the sculpture’s surface as intended by the artist.
12. Polishing
The bronze is hand polished in preparation for the patina.
13. Patination
The bronze is first heated before the chemical patina is applied by an artist. A patina can achieve many different colours or effects depending on the mix of chemicals used.
14. Waxing
Finally a wax coating is hand applied before the piece is polished to ensure a beautiful lustrous patina.
15. Numbering
Finally, the piece is numbered by hand. It is numbered as the casting number, followed by a slash and finally the edition size. For examples, 5/250 means that your piece was the fifth piece to be cast from the master mould out of 250 castings made. The piece also bears the signature of the artist. Sue Maclaurin pieces are marked either Sue Maclaurin, Sue Mac, or with her insignia of an S and small cat face.
Shipping is FREE everywhere in the world!
All orders are sent using a tracked, insured, express service.
All in stock items are dispatched the working day after we receive your order. Out of stock items will be dispatched on the date shown on the listing.
UK deliveries – next working day - FREE
UK deliveries are shipped by DPD Local, who will send a one hour window to your mobile or email on the morning of delivery so you don’t have to wait around for your parcel.
We use a next working day service as standard (NI, Highlands and Islands take two working days). If you choose and pay for a Saturday or Sunday delivery when you check out (and order before 6am on a Friday), your order will arrive with you the first Saturday or Sunday after you place your order. If you order after 6am on Friday, your order will arrive one weekend later.
If you are in a rush, or need any special arrangements, please call us on 01442 256290 and we will be delighted to help.
All parcels arrive in plain, unbranded brown cartons to help keep the contents a secret.
Deliveries outside the UK - FREE
Deliveries outside the UK are shipped by TNT, who will email your tracking information to you.
We use an express service that will be delivered on a weekday. Deliveries to Europe, the USA and Canada typically take 2 -3 working days, with other destinations taking 3 – 5 working days.
All parcels arrive in Nelson & Forbes branded shipping packaging when sent overseas.
For full details please see USA Shipping / International Shipping
