Rupert, the Gargoyle

[Winchester]

Rupert came home this afternoon.

It was interesting bringing him home. He is really heavy and he added quite a bit of weight to the truck, so it made going around curves a little interesting. But we made it home OK.

My BIL, nephew, and nephew-in-law all came over to help DH get Rupert off the truck and into his new home in the flowerbed. Did I mention that the boy is really heavy? The guy had to put him on the truck with a forklift.

I love all the detail on him; well, I just think he's awesome!

Thanks for looking!

 

[ruthyb]

Oh wow, Rupert is fantastic, he looks great. x

 

[zohdee]

How gorgeous!! I love Rupert and he looks to have a very fine home

.

 

[-_aj_-]

Rupert is gorgeous He fits in very well in your garden

 

[nurseangel]

He is stunning in the garden. Where did he come home from?

 

[kailie]

Wow, I LOVE him!

 

[larussa]

Rupert looks fantastic and fits in nicely.

 

[trouts mom]

Ooooh I love this!

 

[natalie_ca]

Wow! That's gorgeous! I looked at the website that sells those garden statues when you posted the first one that arrived.

Absolutely stunning and such a beautiful way to add interest and architecture to a garden. And the fact that they are heavy means that it's unlikely that someone will be able to walk away with them.

Great investment

 

[butzie]

Awesome! Now, there are gargoyles on Notre Dame and flying buttresses, so my question now is when you are getting the buttresses and where the heck are you going to put them? lol

 

[Winchester]

I'm glad you all like him! I think he's pretty cool.

Nurseangel, we bought him at a place about 60 miles away from where we live. This business sells all kinds of statuary and fountains. In fact, they have a large fountain, 3 tiers, each tier with lion heads on it. DH and I have been discussing buying this fountain as we've been looking for one for in the back yard next to the pergola (which isn't built yet). Right now, the fountain is on sale and is almost $300 off the regular price. We haven't decided yet. I'm not sure where you live or how familiar you on with Pennsylvania. We had to order Rupert as the business didn't have any in stock when we were there.

Flying buttresses, butzie! Wow, could you see something like that on a house? Hmmm, how about on the garage?

 

[natalie_ca]

Is this the same place?

http://www.designtoscano.com/categor...ues.do?nType=1

They also have some gorgeous indoor statues.

 

[Winchester]

Originally Posted by Natalie_ca

Is this the same place?

http://www.designtoscano.com/categor...ues.do?nType=1

That's where we got Apex, the dragon. But not where we got Rupert. We bought Rupert from Farmerboy Furniture. I managed to find a link:

http://www.farmerboyfurniture.com/

They will build furniture to suit your needs. If you have a plan, they'll build it whatever you want. We wanted the gargoyle, however, and had to order him. I don't know if you can see one of them on their site as my BIL had bought the last one. Then I ordered Rupert. He doesn't keep the large gargoyles stocked. He has two catalogs that you can peruse and place orders. I'm not sure where the catalog companies are from, but I know neither is Toscano.

He also carries outdoor lighting, like pole lights for the yard, but also outdoor lights that you can put on your house. And yes, he has gargoyle lights. I think he carries dragon lights, too. My sister and I are going back down in a couple of weeks. He said he thought he might be able to find me a nice gargoyle weathervane.

 

[swampwitch]

Wow, Rupert's beautiful!

There's a modern house here that has a corner cut away on the outside, with a gargoyle statue displayed in there. Very cool idea; I'll try to get a picture.

 

[nurseangel]

Originally Posted by Winchester

I'm glad you all like him! I think he's pretty cool.

Nurseangel, we bought him at a place about 60 miles away from where we live. This business sells all kinds of statuary and fountains. In fact, they have a large fountain, 3 tiers, each tier with lion heads on it. DH and I have been discussing buying this fountain as we've been looking for one for in the back yard next to the pergola (which isn't built yet). Right now, the fountain is on sale and is almost $300 off the regular price. We haven't decided yet. I'm not sure where you live or how familiar you on with Pennsylvania. We had to order Rupert as the business didn't have any in stock when we were there.

Flying buttresses, butzie! Wow, could you see something like that on a house? Hmmm, how about on the garage?

I went to a landscaping store that sells fountains...they were all on sale, except for the huge one with lion heads.

It was very pretty, though. If I get a vote, I say get the fountain, too!

 

[valanhb]

Rupert is very cool!

I have always loved gargoyles and grotesques. Technically, Rupert is a grotesque; gargoyles have drain spouts/water coming from their mouths. I don't remember where I learned that, probably something on History Channel about Gothic Architecture.

When I saw him in your garden from the far view, I thought, "Who needs a scarecrow when you have a gargoyle!"

 

[libby74]

I love your Rupert! It definitely looks as if he's found a good home.
We have a lot of smaller gargoyles all over the yard, and one huge one that I think is made of a pot metal of some sort. We call her Agnes. Her wings are separate pieces and are so heavy I can't even lift one. The moles are doing so much digging in the yard that Agnes now has a distinct leaning problem. I don't have a clue as to how DH is going to take care of that; I'm afraid she's actually going to fall over, giant wings and all.

 

[Winchester]

SwampWitch, I would love to see the picture of the gargoyle! A couple weeks ago, my sister drove by a house that was for sale. There were two gargoyles guarding the front porch. She stopped to see if the owners might be interested in selling the gargoyles, but the owners said that they plan on taking them with them to their new home.

Somebody asked what the colored globe is....I'm not sure of the technical name. We always called it a gazing ball. We have to take it inside during the colder months.

Technically, I guess Rupert would be considered a grotesque, valanhb. The Toscano catalog has a gargoyle that you can put on the end of your house gutters for the water to flow through....I think his name was Roland, or something like that.

Libby 74, please post a picture of Agnes if you can. I'd love to see her! My sister and BIL's yard has gargoyles thoughout....including a sign that says "This property is protected by gargoyles".

 

[libby74]

This is Agnes; her tips of her wings are probably 5' high. My husband surprised me with her one night; we had lost our Sheltie, Pepper, a day or 2 before and he wanted to cheer me up. The wings are detachable, otherwise I don't think anyone could lift her. I held onto one of the wings while he attached the other, had the end of it sitting on my foot. It's so heavy it left a bruise!
Agnes is tilting forward a little too much because of the mole problem I mentioned earlier. That lighter colored thing behind her is a large piece of flagstone that DH thought would look good. He might have to sit Agnes on it to keep the moles from toppling her.




The little white dragon next to her is Fiona. Unfortunately, one of her wings detached from her back and I haven't had a chance to glue her back together.

 

[swampwitch]

I got the picture from Google maps, so it's not great but you get the idea. And I didn't have to drive over there.

I wonder if the cutout on the corner of the house was there first, or they had the gargoyle first? It was a surprise when we spotted it.