Figurative sculpture in stone has a long tradition.  The great gardens of classical Rome and Greece were adorned with monumental statues, some of which came to England in the 18th century with young men returning from the Grand Tour.  Gods and goddesses, mythological and biblical characters, saints, animals and idealised figures of gardeners and shepherds have ornamented gardens and parks for centuries.   Today, figurative stone sculptures are less representational, tending towards abstraction.