From childhood, we were taught to imagine the sculptor only in this way:
And this is his entire tool:
Who does not know the phrase of Michelangelo Buonarroti, about a piece of marble, from which you need to cut off all unnecessary. Moreover, the Latin word sculpo is cut out, cut off.
So, how much of this marble was used to make all these statues, vases, columns and other handicrafts necessary in the life of ancient people?
Why be petty? Here is a whole palace in St. Petersburg made of natural marble:
Let's not forget that not everyone managed to achieve the mastery of Michelangelo, so you have to write off a huge amount of marble on the trembling hand of a beginner. After all, if the incisor went deeper than necessary, then nothing can fix it. This is not a picture, you can’t erase a blot with an elastic band and you can’t paint over it on top.
And we do not need any marble, but only a solid piece, without cracks and the same tone.
It is useless to try to count the number of sculptures of the past and other marble products. Let's add here those products that were destroyed or hidden in personal vaults.
But, even after looking at what is left, one never ceases to be amazed at the skill of the ancient sculptors.
Or maybe technology?
What do you think, which instrument from this set was used in the creation of this composition "Getting rid of the spell" by Francesco Quirolo?
How marble was processed when creating this masterpiece:
When looking at this piece of art, The Rape of Proserpina, remember that this was created by 23-year-old Giovanni Lorenzo Bernini, in 1621.
Our youth is clearly not busy with that. He created such perfection, literally after graduation, and then, until the end of his life, no rays of glory.
Now there is a lot of controversy about how such sculptures were made.
Official history stands dead on its own - a chisel, a hammer and the genius of the master, everything that was used in the processing of marble.
Basically, this is another option:
But, in the case of marble, one wrong move and all the work is in vain.
There are also opinions that the sculptures were cast from marble, having previously created a masterpiece from wax.
Then, on the basis of such products, molds for casting were created.
It remains to pour liquid marble and get the finished product.
We have already seen that melting stones for the ancients was no problem.
Moreover, the presence of artificial marble, in those days, should not be denied either.
In old books they wrote that when chalk was heated, liquid marble was obtained, which could be poured into a mold.
Carving with a chisel from marble and casting it are all the technologies that the master uses in his work.
If the confectioner uses the technology of baking buns, like everyone else, but at the same time adds his skill, then his buns will be tastier than others.
In our case, all the masters of making marble sculptures gathered in sunny Italy. Whether it was the terrain or the climate, I don't know. But the fact remains. All great sculptors come from Italy.
Here, for example, is one of them.

Meet Rafael Monti. At the age of 20, mind you, what developed young men were in Italy, he won a gold medal for a sculptural group called "Alexander Tames Bucephalus". Then 4 years of study in Vienna, where he worked with the Munich sculptor Ludwig Schaller on the creation of a monumental pediment for the National Museum in Budapest.
And then he went to England in 1846 and created this for the Duke of Devonshire:

“Vestalka” is a priestess of the Greek goddess Vesta, who, after 30 years of service in the temple of the goddess, could get married and then her name was the bride.
Further, historians describe miracles in general.
Raphael Monti returns to Italy, apparently on behalf of the Duke of Devonshire, and joins the National Guard, as one of the chief officers of this guard, to participate in the Risorgimento, the revolution to unify Italy.
Who made him a chief officer, for what military merit, if he is a sculptor?
Or maybe everything is simpler, the Duke of Devonshire sponsored the "orange" revolution in Italy, and Monty was his agent?
But we are interested in his activities as a sculptor.
Participating in 1847-1848 in this:
He created another work of art:
Do not forget that he is one of the chief officers, that is, practically one of the leaders of this revolution.
So, if he created the first masterpiece in a veil in England, then participating in the fighting of the Italian revolution in 1847, he had enough time and energy to create another masterpiece.
Well, guess who bought this masterpiece before the exhibition?
Of course, the Duke of Devonshire. Moreover, mind you, the sculptor is fighting in Italy, and the duke is buying his statues in London. And all this in 1847.
Apparently, Aliexpress was already working then.
Then Monti, having lost the revolution, in 1848, fled to Great Britain, where he continued to create: