Sculpture plinths, pedestals and columns for statues

Statue plinths should be stable, should complement the sculpture, complement the surroundings, and should be affordable.

See further down for a directory of plinth suppliers, and topics such as how to build your own indoor and outdoor plinth.

Most table-sized sculpture and smaller outdoor statues need a plinth so they can be viewed at a height that allows the viewer to appreciate the artwork. Sculpture portrait heads, floor-based artwork, head and shoulder busts, sundials, and statues being located in flower beds or behind furniture can also benefit from having a plinth.

Outdoor plinths, need to be resistant to wind and weather, and provide security against theft, while indoor plinths need to be easy to clean, and are most useful if they accommodate a different sculpture in the future, or if the plinth itself could work elsewhere, should you ever move things around.

– Stability: A plinth needs to stand up without rocking, which is harder than it sounds, because it is influenced by the weight of any sculpture placed on top.

– Complementary design: Statue plinths should complement the sculpture, and the home or garden. This can be achieved with appropriate sizing, sympathetic colours and styles, or contrasting colours and designs.

– Affordability: You don’t want to be surprised by large unanticipated display costs after purchasing a statue, and the more you are aware of your choices the more you can keep plinth costs under control.

– Outdoor wind and weather resistance: Pedestals and statue plinths placed outside or in the garden have a lot more to contend with, as fluctuating temperatures, extreme wind, rain, frost, moss and bird poo can all contribute to difficulty maintaining a plinth, and keeping the statue it supports safe.

– Outdoor security: Safety isn’t just about weather, as outdoor statues are more likely to be targets of theft. The plinth isn’t the target, but it is a big factor in keeping the sculpture safe in your garden.

– Indoor wipeable plinths: Everything in your house needs cleaning, and flat topped surfaces like furnishings and plinths need special attention to keep them dust free. An easily wipeable surface can keep your statue looking good and the plinth it sits on from becoming an eye-sore.

– Indoor aesthetic flexibility: Most people change their decor, moving things around and trying artworks in different locations as they expand they collections, redecorate, or try a different look. A plinth that could work as well for a future sculpture, or could look just as good elsewhere in your home, is a plinth that won’t need to be replaced in the future.

But which plinths are best?

Above – Cast stone Georgian style plinth from Ashover Stone (UK)

Order of outdoor plinth longevity – including material strength and other considerations, from strongest to weakest:

1/ Non-ferrous (non-rusting) metals – stainless steel is expensive

2/ Granite & Quartzite – top natural material, expensive

3/ Concrete – strong all rounder, but absorbs stains

4/ Brick – weak mortar mix can require future re-pointing

5/ Boulders (large stones) – damage can increase attractiveness

6/ Ferrous (rustable) metals – rusting eventually weakens joints

7/ Marble, Dolorite – can fracture with drilling

8/ Sandstones and limestones – reasonably easy to chip

9/ Cast stone – reasonably easy to chip, available in many colours

10/ Toughened glass & Plastic composites – hard to damage

11/ Solid wood – will rot in five or ten years

12/ Treated timber – will rot in three or four years

13/ Resin – easy to chip accidentally

14/ Perspex & Acrylic plastic – these scratch easily

15/ Marine plywood – will rot in two or three years

16/ Wood stumps (still rooted) – rots quickly from exposed grain

17/ Plywood – will blow and rot very quickly

18/ MDF or fibreboard – will bubble very quickly and rot

Above – A corten steel plinth designed to turn orange with rust, from Tom’s Bespoke Plinths

Non-mechanical security for outdoor plinths:

At private sites, these things are good:

– Someone being at home most of the time,

– A site visible from the house,

– Dogs,

– CCTV and security lighting

– Walls, fences and gates

And these things are bad:

– Empty houses

– Visibility and nearness to a road or public highway

– Visibility from a well-used right of way

On commercial sites, public sites, large estates and holiday homes, these things are good:

– Onsite security,

– High staff awareness of scheduled work by contractors, and an understanding of who to communicate with to check,

– Lots of lighting,

– Night time public access restrictions,

– CCTV and monitored Security alarms

The best OUTDOOR plinths for garden statues

If in doubt, ask a supplier if the pedestal is suitable for outdoor use. My favourite outdoor plinth is at the bottom of this section.

Long-lasting plinths:

The longest lasting materials in all weathers are stone, brick, concrete, and metal. Though even these materials have qualifiers. Cast stone and the soft stones like limestone are more vulnerable than hard stones like granite. Brick plinths do need to be mortared with a decent cement mix mortar to stay strong. Some metal plinths are too thin and too prone to corrosion. To the left is list of materials from stongest to weakest.

Secure plinths:

Plinths can be made as secure as possible, but they cannot be made wholly thief-proof. The most secure plinth is one that is placed in a location that can be seen by people who know who should be there. Non-mechanical plinth security is considered to the left.

There are mechanical steps we can take in securing plinths. In order, this is, (1) the attachment method of the statue to the pedestal, (2) the strength of the plinth, (3) the attachment method of the plinth to the footing.

The most common standard for secure plinths is, (1) the bolting or glueing of the statue to the top of the plinth, (2) the use of a stone, concrete, brick, metal or heavy timber plinth, (3) and the bolting or gluing of the plinth to a concrete foundation.

This security standard is only as strong as the statue, and only as effective as the attachment gap. What this means firstly is that, most statue thieves are after the metal value of the sculpture, and that means if it would take longer to cut through the plinth, they will instead cut through the sculpture. Secondly, this means if you leave a handy gap between the sculpture and the plinth you attach it to, you provide a point of leverage or an opening for a cutting tool that can turn a secure fixing into a vulnerable one.

Traditional outdoor plinths:

Many traditional outdoor plinths are made from natural or cast stone. These materials weather extremely attractively in a garden.

Traditionally plinths have often been integrated into water features like ponds and pools, into gateways and garden walls, and into building facades.

Modern outdoor plinths:

Simple shaped stone plinths tend to be popular in contemporary gardens, and can suit minimalist and wildlife garden styles. While glass and steel can work well designed into urban and industrial landscape designs.

Highly coloured plinths, patterned plinths, or plinths that include laser cuts designs

The inclusion of a plinth or sculpture pedestal into a contemporary garden might be complemented by lighting, including uplighting, spot lighting or coloured outdoor lighting.

The ‘best’ outdoor plinths (my recommendation):

My recommendation is a balance between simplicity, security, mobility and affordability. A brick or stone built plinth can be styled to fit your setting, with the sculpture bolted onto a cap-piece so that if you ever need to remove the sculpture, you can break the cap-piece off the plinth at the seam without damaging the statue.

Find out how your gardener can build one for you, or how you can build one yourself below in the ‘Building your own plinth from brick or stone’ section.

The best INDOOR plinths for sculptures

My favourite indoor plinth is at the bottom of this section.

Easy-clean plinths:

Indoors plinths get dusty. Easily wipeable surfaces include plinths coated with oil-based paints (such as exterior paints), and varnished wooden plinths. Water-based paint can dissolve when wiped with a damp cloth, and repeated cleaning can leave them looking dirty, or as though the colour has been washed out. Unfinished wooden plinths similarly can look dirty after being cleaned with water, and long term the wood can become water-stained or colour-leached.

Resin plinths are extremely easy to clean (unless they’ve been painted, after which it just becomes a question of whether the paint is water soluble, or water resistant like an exterior oil based paint). The less common toughened glass, plexiglass or acrylic plastic plinth are all very easy to clean (though the last two are super easy to irreversibly scratch).

Stone is most expensive, and while granites are easy to clean and are stain resistant, most other stones do absorb stains and may need a coat of sealant to avoid staining through repeated wiping with a damp cloth.

Modern indoor plinths:

Minimalist style rectangular plinths have been the contemporary fashion for a long time, and are usually blended into the home with a sympathetic paint.

As indoor plinths do not have to survive the weather a large number of cheap plinths are available, the most common being those made of mdf or fibreboard. These are not long-lived plinths, because they can bubble when they get damp from mopping around the base, and sometimes even from regular cleaning with a damp cloth. But they are extremely affordable. We actually recommend marine ply if you have one built for you, though marine ply plinths are hard to find off the shelf. Normal ply wood still lasts longer than mdf.

Traditional indoor plinths:

There are many antique plinths available for purchase that use highly decorative stone, often within ornate settings, such as between decorated legs and cap-pieces. There are also many modern recreations of victorian period, baroque period, and classical revival plinths. However, these are often not to everyone’s tastes and you may find that solid wood plinths are better at capturing the traditional feel you are looking for, and can be more easily be matched to more contemporary decor. You can do this using a wood stain, coloured varnish, or a sympathetic coat of paint (solid or rubbed back).

The ‘best’ indoor plinths (my recommendation):

My favourite indoor plinth is a solid block of wood, such as sustainably sourced pine or oak, sanded down thoroughly to remove cutting marks, and then either waxed using a water-resistant and stain-resistant wax for a natural wood colour. Or, alternatively, painted using an oil-based water-resistant paint that is sympathetically coloured to the plinth’s surroundings. One important reason for this is that a solid wood plinth has a lot of weight to it, and it is much less likely to tip over if someone knocks it or backs into it by accident

2 Plinths and pedestals modern minimalist plinths with colourful display

Above – Modern minimalist plinths from Plinths and Pedestals (UK)

Above – Traditional style black fluted plinth from Sculptured Arts Studio (UK)

Building your own outdoor statue plinth from brick or stone

What you need:

Measuring tape, cement (bags), builder’s sand (bags), cement mixer or plywood sheet and spade, bricklaying trowel, pointing trowel, chosen bricks or stone, chosen cap-piece of stone or concrete or metal, outdoor adhesive, adhesive applicator, stainless steel threaded rods, stainless steel washers, stainless steel nuts, adjustable spanner, blankets for protecting the sculpture, timber offcuts, grinder with concrete disc, paper towels.

i) Pour a concrete foundation the same size or a little larger than the intended plinth. Use a 10 cm / 4 inch bed of stone aggregate, and a 20 cm / 8 inch layer of concrete. Allow this to set for 48 hours.

ii) Build the brick or stone column section, using a cement-rich mortar mix of one part cement to two parts sand (though weaker mixes will do). Remove excess mortar.

iii) Drill holes in the cap-piece, so you can bolt the statue onto it when you are ready.

iv) Rough up the top of the final brick or stone course and the base of the cap-piece using a grinder to increase adhesion.

v) Place the sculpture gently on its side on the blankets. Screw the threaded rods into the base. Using timber offcuts, prepare a stable raised place to situate the cap-piece. Place the cap-piece onto the raised timber offcuts. Place the statue with the inserted threaded rods onto the cap-piece. Use the washers and nuts to bolt the sculpture to the cap-piece (use a minimum of two threaded rods as this prevents simply unscrewing the sculpture off a single threaded rod).

v) Apply a large amount of the outdoor adhesive to the top of the stone course (and to the bottom of the cap-piece if you can, avoiding the nuts). Place the cap-piece onto the brick or stone column, and clean off the excess adhesive with paper towels until invisible.

Above – Find a step by step guid on how to build a column on WikiHow

Above – Miranda on show. If you want to see what your sculpture will look like at different heights, you can try it out without mortar initially, to find out.

Above: Imperial and metric plywood explained by Vina Wood Ltd.

Above – a guide to building a plinth from Emily Watkins with pictures

Above – Savvas Papasavva has some excellent how-to videos on building and painting a plinth.

Making your own indoor statue plinth

What you need:

– measuring tape, paper, pencil,

– 1 x 2 inch timber or 2 x 2 inch timber,

– 12mm, or 1/2 inch ply wood or mdf sheet,

– wood screws, these should be longer than the width of your timber, but no longer than the width of your timber plus the thickness of your wood sheet

– electric hand drill with Philips head screwdriver bit of an appropriate size to fit the wood screws,

– wood primer paint, your chosen coloured paint, paint brushes or a paint roller and tray,

– a filler that can be sanded flat when dry, sandpaper or a sanding block,

– hand saw,

– a ‘drop cloth’ or decorator’s sheet, and a place to cut wood and use paint without causing a mess.

Optional: circular saw, mitre saw, right angle triangle, heavier grade timber like 2 x 4 inch, filler knife or spatula, a drill bit for pilot holes.

i) Calculating your measurements: Sketch the finished plinth onto a piece of paper and write down your chosen measurements. Now draw 2 rectangles and a square. The square represents the top of your plinth, so write the chosen width on each side of your square. Each single rectangle represents two sides of the plinth, so write “x 2” by each rectangle. Write the width you chose on one rectangle “width”, then write the width minus twice the thickness of your sheet wood on the other “width – thickness – thickness”. Now write the same height on both rectangles, which is your chosen plinth height minus the thickness of your sheet wood “height – thickness”. This length, the “height – thickness”, is also the length you will cut your four pieces of 1 x 2 inch batten, or 2 x 2 inch timber.

ii) Check your measurements and cut your four lengths of timber, and your 5 pieces of sheet wood.

iii) Separate the narrower 2 rectangular pieces (the ones that measure “width – thickness – thickness”) and place two pieces of timber along the long edges each. Screw these on through the timber.

iv) Now take the wider two rectangles and screw them to the prepared sides from what will seen be the outside of the plinth. Ensure these wider rectangles are flush with the outer edges of the prepared 2 sides.

v) Screw the square lid onto the top.

vi) (Optional) to add weight and make your plinth more bottom heavy and therefore more stable, cut four short lengths of heavy timber, like 2 x 4 inch, and screw the pieces into the open bottom of the base.

vii) Now use filler to cover the screw heads, allow it to dry, then sand it flat with the sandpaper.

viii) Paint your plinth with the primer paint. Leave to dry, then repeat once more.

ix) Paint your plinth with your chosen coloured paint. Leave to dry. Repeat once more if needed.

Directory of sculpture plinth and pedestal suppliers

UK - list of plinth suppliers in the United Kingdom

Plywood plinths: WoodStelDesign – Plinths.co.uk – ArtPlinths.co.uk – ArtBoards

MDF plinths: LJB Woodworks – BespokeMDF – Gerstaecker – Plinths&Pedestals – Plinths & More – Exhibition Plinths – CutMy.co.uk

Solid wood plinths: Plinths.co.uk – Wood Turning From Mark – JR Woodcraft

Corten steel plinths: Corten Style – Flora Select – LuxUnique

Metal plinths: Urban Grow – Andy Stedman Design Shop – Plinths.co.uk – LegendUrn

Cast stone plinths: Haddonstone – Acanthus – Cranborne – Chilstone – Discount Garden Statues – Birdsall & Co – Geoff’s Garden Ornaments

Stone plinths: Sculptured Arts Studio – UK Architectural Antiques – BCN Marble Design – Pergamon – TM Stone – Westland – Shropshire Design

Resin plinths (sometimes called fibreclay): Holstens – Whittingtons – Statues And Sculptures

Reclaimed brick: Reclaimed Brick Company – Hadley-Reclaimed

Boulders & Feature stones – Welsh Slate Water Features – Mid Wales Stone – Decorative Aggregates – Miles Stone – Paving Superstore

Polished Concrete – Gecko Polished Concrete

Acrylic plastic – Retail Acrylics – DDP Workshop – Displaypro – Pedestal Source

Glass plinths – Plinths.co.uk

USA - plinth suppliers in the United States of America

Plywood and thin timber plinths: ArtBoards – WW Pedestals – Decorativo Shop – From And To Nature

MDF plinths: ShopPOPdisplays – Pedestal Source – Acrylic Wood Shop – Garrison Wood Farm Shop – France & Son – Subastralinc

Solid wood plinths: Harp Gallery – Perigold – Pujindu – Chairish – PFCDZDU

Corten steel plinths: Ricki and Sons Shop – Makertable

Metal plinths: Galore Home – MW Craft Shop – Art Deco Pro – All Modern

Cast Stone plinths: Hen Feathers – Faraway Garden – Art of History

Stone plinths: Statue.com – EyeSwoon – Solid Rock Stone Works – Atelier Bismuth

Resin plinths (sometimes called fibreclay): A Rustic Garden – Wayfair – Design Toscano

Reclaimed brick: Gavin Historical Brick – Columbia Block and Brick – Telluride

Boulders & Feature stones – EarthStoneRock – Southwest Stone Supply – New York Quarries

Concrete – Vertex

Acrylic plastic – Walmart – Pedestal Source – Candy Concepts

Plaster plinths – Museumize