Gargoyle statues
Gargoyle statues are ancient architecturally functional building décor tuned into
Balthazar's Watch Gargoyle Sculpture
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modern-day simultaneously horrifying and fascinating front lawn and garden enhancing figurines.
Gargoyle statues are an ever increasingly popular home and front yard décor enticers.  Originating in the distant past these sculptural creatures give our lives a glimpse into the beautiful and grotesque world of the relic gargoyle statues.
Gargoyle statues became legendary protectors, originating about 1200AD in Europe, but early references date back to around 600 AD. Gargoyle statues were originally used for a practical need in architecture as carved stone rain spouts. These gargoyle
Gargoyle on the Loose Wall Sculpture
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statues were designed to convey water from the roof away from the building to minimize the potential damage to the stone and mortar from erosion. Gargoyle statues were the favorite technique of drainage since the introduction of stone carvings into ornamental design made this possible. Today only a few gargoyle statues fulfill their original purpose.
Gargoyle statues have appeared throughout architectural history. The Egyptians were the first to portray animal-human hybrid gargoyle statues in their architecture. Among the gargoyle statues in Greek mythology the griffins were introduced into their
Chained Gargoyle Of Turin Garden Statues
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beliefs. These gargoyle statues would be place on each corner of the roof and come alive at night to protect the building and its occupants from evil, and return to their corner by sun-up.
Gargoyle statues were used extensively on medieval buildings.  These gargoyle statues garnish innumerable cathedrals all over the world. Almost certainly the most famous is the gargoyle statues of Notre Dame, which was started in 1163 and completed in 1345, nearly two centuries later.
Gargoyle statues though horrifying but still fascinating were predominantly carved in limestone or marble and divided into several groups; animal gargoyle statues, human shaped gargoyle statues, and hybrid gargoyle statues. Gargoyle statues were usually carved on the ground to prevent damage during construction, but a few had to be carved in place.
Attakus Gargoyle Statue
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Hybrids while typically depicted as winged humanoids with horns, a tail and talons the term gargoyle statues has come to include all combinations of people and real animals. There are no two gargoyle statues exactly alike most likely because stone masons of the day had a free hand in their choice of actually what they wanted to depict in their gargoyle statues when completed. Today they serve primarily as ornamentation but still synonymous with gargoyle statues none the less.
In the 18th and 19th centuries gargoyle statues came to America, on Princeton and Duke Universities, Washington National Cathedral in Washington, DC, plus many other churches and buildings in Chicago, New York City and throughout the nation.
Argus Panoptes Gargoyle Statue
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Gargoyle statues range in size from only a few inches high to several feet high and weigh upwards of a ton.
 It could be that gargoyle statues were of pagan origin and later adopted by the church as a visual form of the devil, like Cernunnos “Horned Lord of the animals”.
Check out this fascinating world today, you’ll most likely find a few gargoyle statues you want for your own front yard!!
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