Statuaries

Statuaries throughout history and in the modern age.

Written by
Joshua Schlueter
Published on
October 2, 2022 at 1:19:24 PM PDT October 2, 2022 at 1:19:24 PM PDTnd, October 2, 2022 at 1:19:24 PM PDT

Statuaries

Massarelli's

The Massarelli's story began back in 1972 at a modest facility on just 3 acres of land in Egg Harbor City, New Jersey. Mario Massarelli was just 17 when he started the business and he did it all – designing statuary, creating and pouring molds, retail sales, wholesale sales, even attending trade shows. There was no textbook for success here. Everything Mario did he was self-taught. He was doing something that he loved, and the business grew.

In 1994, Massarelli's moved to its present 100,000 square foot manufacturing facility on more than 12 acres of land in Hammonton, New Jersey. Two years later, a second location on 25 acres of land was added, designed for storage and a spectacular showroom. Today, Massarelli's has become a leader in the garden center industry servicing nearly 2,000 independent dealers in all 50 states and Canada.

Forty years later, Mario is still on the job…"hands-on" every step of the way. He is still creating and designing, a guiding force in the manufacturing of every single product that bears the Massarelli's name. For him, it's not work, it's a passion – a passion for perfection that has turned a dream into a forty-year success story.

MASSARELLI'S TOUCH
OUR PLEDGE OF QUALITY

There are reasons why Massarelli's continues to flourish, even in an ever-changing global market. An extensive selection is one. But more than quantity, it's our commitment to the highest quality that counts! That's what the Massarelli's Touch is all about. It's about a skilled team of fine artists, sculptures, mold-makers. It's about a well trained manufacturing staff. It's about using only the finest materials and state-of-the-art equipment, Bottom line – it's about not only meeting, but exceeding customer expectations..


Carruth Studio

George Carruth is the quiet force behind Carruth Studio. Since 1983 he has been creating wonderful cast images from completely original designs carved from limestone and clay.


Initially, George's work was 2 dimensional, in the form of illustrations for advertising. This was not the career of choice as the dream was always to sculpt as a living.


With encouragement from his wife, who's philosophy has been: "Do what makes you happy," a stone carver emerged. For more than 2 years, selling hand carved originals at juried shows and to fine galleries supported them. When demand for his whimsical works continued to increase, the first cast piece was born and Carruth Studio made its debut. He was the production department while she was the packing, shipping, marketing, and billing department... all from their garage and basement.


There are now over 40 employees at Carruth. George is both a sculptor and art director, as now there are additional sculptors on the team. George has explained his motivation for casting his work, as a way to take an original carving that is well crafted and makes it available to thousands of people. George's work makes people smile, which means they are sharing just a small part of the joy he feels when creating it, and that Statue.com feels in helping to make it available to our customers.


  

The Casey Collection

The exquisite architectural elements designed by renowned artist and architect Richard Casey are reminiscent of the treasured collections of the world’s great museums, yet each piece is unlike any found there. Influenced by his New England roots, Casey has interpreted styles from the periods and traditions of many cultures to create unique works of remarkable character. The Casey Collection's desire has always been to capture the essence of the ruin. Broken here and there, and wit the look of ancient, time-weathered stone, these pieces seem like they should be in a museum. An important design aspect of The Casey Collection pieces is that they are "humanly scaled". Richard Casey sculpts pieces that, if it were an actual piece from a ruin, would normally be too large. He is able to scale his designs so that they don't look miniaturized.


Casey originals are sculpted in clay then skillfully engineered through intricate molding and casting processes and manufactured by American craftsmen. These sometimes massive-looking pieces are actually created of lightweight resin, but finished to so closely mimic stone that they really must be touched to be believed. They are, therefore, appropriate for a wide range of applications. Casey architectural pieces can be displayed as is or can be cut to fit on site, then grouted in stonework or plastered in place.


Statue.com is pleased to include the stunning Casey collection of architectural ornament to our collections of beautiful works of art, providing yet another avenue for our patrons of enhancements for the home, the garden, the office or business environment.


  

Egregia

These charming figurines were created by A. Giannelli in Volterra, city in the heart of Italy's alabaster district. His work is in the tradition of the great Italian Master. The figurines are composed of alabaster dust mixed a durable binding compound. Each piece is expertly crafted with painstaking: his experience is impressive. Born in Volterra, Italy, he was a keen student of sculpture form the age of ten. He graduated from the Royal School of Art in 1924 and achieved the accolade of "Master" at the Nardoni Workshops. In 1953, he was appointed president of the Alabaster Craftsmen Guild, a position he held until 1961. Among his most famous pieces, three works are prominent. He completed a bust for Dwight D Eisenhower, for which he received the American President's personal thanks. Mirko Basaldella, the famous sculptor, commissioned him to create a three metre high totem for the Boston University. He also produced a bust of the President of Kenya which was commissioned by Professor Fioravanti of Rome. For his professional achievements, he was awarded the title of "Cavaliere" in 1970 the Italian equivalent of a Knighthood. We trust you will gain great pleasure from these beautiful figurines. Notice: all sculptures lacking the A. Giannelli signature are crude imitations. The slight differences that may be noticed in these products do not reduce their value but rather testify their artisan workmanship.

  

Henri Studio

Henri Studio is the world's largest designer and manufacturer of original cast stone fountains and statuary. Through a balanced blend of advanced production techniques and Old World tradition, Henri Studio has grown to become the industry leader in cast stone garden decor. Their late founder, Eneri Prosperi, emigrated from Bagni di Lucca in Italy's renowned Lucca region, famous for centuries of cast and marble sculpture. His traditional skills and artisan's wisdom have remained the foundation of this family-owned firm for four decades. His vision and presence continue to inspire the work at Henri Studio.


In the spirit of Eneri Prosperi, Henri Studio continues to create original designs, attractive finishes, and beautiful, affordable products of the highest quality. Henri's original sculpted and internationally copyrighted creations in fountains, statuary, birdbaths, planters and garden ornaments are renowned around the globe. The Henri name is synonymous with quality and originality to thousands of garden retailers and consumers worldwide, and STATUE.COM is proud to offer the Henri line to our discriminating patrons.


  

House Parts, Inc.

Having searched for rare and marketable items for their collections of unique ornamental pieces for home and garden, House Parts, Inc. currently offers a wide selection of architectural, historical, antique, and present day reproductions. These reproductions capture the aesthetic qualities of their handcrafted originals. Both European and American craftsmanship are represented in the replicas produced. Artistic and technical knowledge, ability and skill in mold making and use of various types of material are required to develop, construct and hand finish each individual piece. Some originals are from museums, private collections and dismantled historic structures. Others are designed and originated by their own artists. All offer a reflection to time-honored craftsmanship.


House Parts, Inc. now produces in excess of nine hundred items in plaster, cement, cast resin, fiberglass and structural high-density urethane foam, and conducts continuous research for additional museum, historical, architectural, antique and modern day pieces for production. Knowing that our customers appreciate products of superior quality, Statue.com is proud to present House Parts products among our lines of fine statuary and related products.


  

Isac

Statue.com is pleased to offer many examples of beautiful statues imported from Italy: the Isac collections of sculptures by the renowned Santini family, among others. White marble from the Northern Italian quarry of Carrara is the chosen material to create the marble resin compound used by the master sculptors and statue producers of the Isac Statuary, and with good reason.


This highly regarded method of producing sculpture replicates the texture and appearance of hand carved works, having the ability to retain the finest details and characteristics of the originals. Whether your tastes in statuary are loyal to the classics, or you prefer contemporary works of art, the Isac collections of bonded marble statues offer many choices, with sculptures from Santini, Ruggeri, Cedraschi, Furiesi, Kostner and Salvestrini. Some pieces are available with hand painted finishes. The white pieces age gracefully, attaining a lovely warm patina reminiscent of ivory.


  

Sandicast

Sandicast, Inc. is the premier manufacturer of hand-cast animal sculptures. The company was started in 1981 when artist Sandra Brue realized her dream of combining her artistic talent and her lifelong love of animals. Sandra, after having been a graphic artist for 12 years, started sculpting animals. Initially, she began selling her sculptures through small, local gift shops. Because of the superb quality of her work, the demand for her sculptures grew so that within a few short years, Sandicast animal sculptures would be available and collected around the world.


With four animals and two employees, Sandy started Sandicast in her garage. The first piece released was a bunny she sculpted while observing him in her own backyard. Thus a bunny is part of the Sandicast company logo. She then created a fawn, squirrel, and Cocker pup. In the beginning, to find out which were the most popular dog breeds, Sandra called pet shops across the United States. As more retailers carried Sandicast and consumer interest soared, shop owners began to overwhelm her with customer requests. Consumers begged for more dogs, cats, and wildlife. Today, Sandra determines what to sculpt by reviewing consumer requests, breed rankings, other decision-making factors and her "gut." New Sandicast sculptures are released twice a year-- January and July. Statue.com is pleased to make these sculptures available to our customers.