Garden & Outdoor Sculptures

Chinlone Garden Orbs

Named for the woven rattan balls of Burma’s traditional sport, each orb is built from multi-strand bands of hand-forged steel. Five sizes, from the 19-inch Baby Chinlone to 76-inch orbs for homes, gardens, parks and courtyards.

Gold Baby Chinlone Garden Orb, 19 inches, multi-strand steel bands woven into an open sphere

19" Baby Chinlone Garden Orb

Available
Shown in Gold
$2,400

A 25-inch pineapple yellow sphere sculpture in the shape of a chinlone wicker ball.

25" Chinlone Garden Orb

Shown in Yellow
$4,000

A multistranded white powder-coated orb sculpture on a three-legged stand, displayed on a lawn in front of a home.

38" Chinlone Garden Orb

Shown in White
$6,500

A 51-inch red steel orb sculpture representing a wicker ball, displayed in a field of grass. Hand forged by New Mexico blacksmith Christopher Thomson.

51" Chinlone Garden Orb

Shown in Red
$8,000

Large 76 inch spherical chrome sculpture, Chinlone Garden Orb, resting on a stand in front of a public building.

76" Chinlone Garden Orb

Shown in Chrome
$14,600

Black spherical Chinlone Garden Orb sculptures in a home garden setting.

A turquoise colored Chinlone Garden Orb metal sculpture by Christopher Thomson Ironworks.

A white orb sculpture on a three-legged stand, displayed on a lawn in front of a country home.

Close up of multi strand forged steel yellow Chinlone Orb sculpture.

Installation

Stands are available for purchase, although they are not a requirement. Many of our customers place their Chinlone Orbs directly on the ground if the surface is level enough.

Stand for 25" Chinlone Orb $1,300
Stand for 38" Chinlone Orb $1,500
Stand for 51" Chinlone Orb $1,700
Stand for 76" Chinlone Orb $2,400

Custom stand used to raise Chinlone Orb Garden sculptures off the ground.

Artist Statement

In 1954 my political scientist father returned from a year in Burma with three wicker chinlone balls. I was six years old. They fascinated me. I enjoyed looking at them almost as much as kicking them.

These orbs are spherical projections of an icosidodecahedron, the Archimedean Solid composed of 20 equilateral triangles and 12 regular pentagons. I am not alone with my fascination. Though Archimedes's original treatise was lost, all 12 of his solids were rediscovered by renaissance mathematicians and artists. More recently Buckminster Fuller studied these 6 great circles each divided by the others into ten equal arcs.

Orbs are powder coated to withstand environmental elements.

- Christopher Thomson

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