Sculptor Samantha Thornton was commissioned to convert one of her existing stone sculptures, 'The Diver', originally in Ancaster Weatherbed, into a larger version for a French chateau. The Wiltshire-based sculptor approached stone specialist stoneCIRCLE to produce the piece. The company used its Omag 5-axes CNC to carve the work from a 1600kg block of Jordans Basebed Portland stone.

The CNC technology used to create the up-scaled piece meant it could be produced directly from a 3D polystyrene model provided by Samantha Thornton.

The final sculpture measures 1.23m high x 1.02m long and weighed 850kg.  

It has been fitted on top of a 1200kg plinth in black Irish Kilkenny Fossil marble 810mm x 810mm x 650mm high and shipped to France, where it is now installed in the grounds of a chateau in the Loire valley.

Samantha told stoneCIRCLE: "She has been installed and looks great. Thank you for all your help and I look forward to getting a new commission for you to help me with!!!"