Size: 6"x5.5'x2"
**Please note the video is of a larger Sherlock edition
Edition Size: 1600
Weight: 2lbs
Sherlock Small
A well weathered Welch terrier. He's extremely experienced in the art of finding things, that's why for many years now he's been working as a detective. Sherlock refuses to give up his pipe, doesn't mind rainy weather or cats, and he used to be a part of the K9 units, and on Saturdays he just goes fishing.
Signed and numbered
Each Nanimal is a limited edition cast from the artist's own moulds, signed and numbered. Edition sizes are recorded on the page — some run to a handful, some to hundreds.
No two are identical
Patina is applied by hand and the inlays are set one at a time, so yours will differ from the photograph in small ways. That's the piece, not a defect.
Free US shipping
Free anywhere in the United States. International runs roughly 7–10% of the piece's price.
Lost wax, by hand
The ancient method: model, mould, wax, bronze. Before it's cast, he presses gears, shells, honeycomb and marketplace debris into the wax, so the surface has a history.
Patina and turquoise
Every finished casting is patinated by hand and inlaid stone by stone. No two leave the foundry the same colour.
Signed and numbered
Limited editions cast from his own moulds, each signed and numbered, plus the rarer artist proofs and foundry copies kept back outside the edition.
Stand close. Then step back.
From across a room a Nanimal reads as one clean animal shape. From two feet away it turns into a junk drawer of the world — a watch gear here, a shell there, a bee, a bolt, a line of turquoise — all of it pressed into the wax by hand before the bronze ever existed. Most sculpture asks you to choose a distance. These reward both. We have yet to see one come out of its crate to a quiet room.
Browse the NanimalsQuestions people ask before they buy
What does the edition number mean?
Every casting of a given sculpture is numbered within a fixed edition — when the edition is finished, no more are made. The number on your piece is its place in that run. Edition sizes vary widely across his work; the one for this piece is on this page.
What's an artist proof or foundry copy, and why does it cost more?
They're the castings kept back by the artist and the foundry, outside the numbered edition, which makes them rarer. They typically run around 25% above the signed-and-numbered price. Sometimes the numbered edition is sold out and only a proof is available — ask us and we'll find out what exists and what it costs.
Will mine look exactly like the photo?
Close, not identical. Nano Lopez presses gears, shells and found objects into the wax before casting, then the patina is brushed on by hand and the turquoise is set stone by stone. Two castings of the same animal are recognisably siblings, not copies. If you want to see the actual casting you'd receive, ask — we'll photograph it.
Is it as impressive in person?
More so, and not by a little. We have never watched someone meet one of these for the first time and stay composed — they laugh, then they get close, then they go quiet. Photographs are honest about the shape and hopeless about the presence. If you want to close the gap before you buy, ask us for video: (808) 283-5000.
Why does it take one to four months?
Because it isn't made yet. If the page says in stock, it ships now. Otherwise the piece is cast, chased, patinated and inlaid at the foundry after you order, and that is simply how long lost-wax bronze takes.
How heavy is it, and where does it go?
The range is enormous. A small piece is a couple of pounds and lives on a shelf. The mediums run roughly twenty-five to a hundred pounds. The life-size and monumental works weigh hundreds — one of the life-size bronzes is 475 lb — and need a floor, a plinth or a garden that can carry it, not a console table. Where we have a weight it's printed on the page; if it isn't there, ask before you order and we'll get it for you.
Indoors or outdoors, and how do I look after it?
Bronze is fine outdoors; the patina is a finish and will shift with weather and salt air. Dust it, keep it out of sprinklers, and ask us before you put one somewhere harsh — we'll tell you what to expect in your climate.
Is it a good investment?
We don't sell art as an investment and we won't tell you what it will be worth later. Buy it because you want to live with it. That's the only part we can guarantee.
Can I pay over time?
Shop Pay Installments at checkout, up to $30,000, as a 3, 6 or 12-month plan at 15% APR. Above that, call (808) 283-5000 and we'll arrange it directly.
The Artist
Nano Lopez
Nano Lopez was born in Bogotá in 1955 and trained at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. He has been sculpting since 1978, and somewhere along the way the animals started arriving with names, biographies and small opinions of their own. He calls them Nanimals. They are bronze, they are funny, and they are made with more care than most things that are serious.
- Born
- 1955, Bogotá, Colombia
- Trained
- École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts, Paris
- Sculpting since
- 1978
- Medium
- Lost-wax bronze, hand patina, turquoise and found-object inlay
- Known for
- The Nanimals
- Editions
- Signed and numbered, plus artist proofs and foundry copies
