Hmm. Well, if you are creative (and have about 50 extra hours lying around...) you could find a small flokati on craigslist (people get rid of them frequently!) and make the head and feet..maybe use a barrel for the body? I think the head would be the hardest part, and it wouldn't look anything like the ones you are swooning over unless you know somebody who is a skilled wood carver!

There are also these wire ones from The Conran Shop. Not fluffy but adorable and hand made in South Africa.

http://www.conranusa.com/ProductDetails.aspx?pid=24243&cid=Gardeners&language=en-US

These are probably more modern than what you are looking for, but Anthropologie has some for under $500. They come in black, white, and red.

I think they are interesting, but my dog would turn it into a giant chew toy.

FAO? OK...stop laughing...

The real Lalanne sheep are beautiful. I never saw them before, but now I'm in love! It would be cheaper to get a real (deceased) sheep freeze-dried than to buy a Lallane! Add some glass eyes. . . . I guess you'd go to one of those freeze dry services that very weird pet owners take their defuncto beloved pets to. (Hey, I'm not really serious, but it is a thought.)

if you're handy, you could pull this for just under $600. fiberglass sheep statue and an unbacked flokati -- a couple of snips here and there -- a little glue. and voila...

You could probably buy a real sheep for a lot less. Keep it as a pet. It might be more mobile than what you are looking for, but when it dies you could have it stuffed, and voila, you have a sheep sculpture!

A taxidermied real sheep? Perhaps that is what Aulaire was talking about... I've never heard of an animal being freeze-dried but people who hunt get animals they kill taxidermied all the time. I'd imagine it would be cheaper than $3,000 but I have no idea.

http://www.animalartstudiotaxidermy.com/pricelist.html

I saw a sheep just like this at Woolworth (in Germany) a few months ago! It was in the toy department and I seriously thought about getting it, just for fun. (how weird is that?) I'm sure there is a well-stocked toy store in New York that carries similar sheep! lol.

I'll bet you could get an art student or etsy artist to happily custom-make one for 3K.

Your husband must really, really, really love you.

If you do decide to go the diy route, an easy way to do the head and any detailed parts would be to carve it out of polystyrene (found in the styrofoam section at the craft store)-- easy to carve details and the curved nose-- and then either dip it in rubber coating (at the hardware store; for dipping tool handles) or gesso and spray paint for the original lacquer look.

For the legs, get some pre-turned chair legs and cover with velvet or paint with suede-finish textured paint.

here's a $400 stuffed toy sheep:
http://www.stuffed-plush-animals.com/hansa-life-size-sheepfree-shipping-p-58.html

Looks pretty lifelike...

Brooks Brothers used them (similar) in displays and I bought one from them for $50.00. Couldn't hurt to try?

Oddly enough, Kaffe 1668 on Greenwich St sells these. I don't know how much they are, but I think they're pretty reasonable.

i think smileydq nailed it
don't do a diy
it will cost bucks
better invested in smileydq's
suggestion

i forgot to ask
why are these things controversial?

"Pinky, are you pondering what I'm pondering?"

"I think so, Brain, but where will we get a plushy sheep sculpture for under 3K?"

My cats would love this...

I never thought I'd ever hear the phrase "these sheep stools are only $1,200". Thank you AT for making a dream come true!

People spend their money on the strangest things.

Did anyone else immediately think Philip K Dick?

Try these for $525

http://www.sourcecollection.com/furniture/sofasandseating/gentleewebench.html

Wow....I never would have guessed that there were multiple sources for expensive fake life-sized sheep as decor.

I have been working on a recycled wool sheep for months.
He will be on display in Seattle in September!
http://racheldenny.com/artwork/398723.html

My art room in elementary school had one of these that somebody made. The whole thing was paper-mache, covered with fur for the body, black velvety cloth for the face, tail, and feet. It was hollow inside (basic shape constructed out of chicken-wire)t. We weren't allowed to touch it, and even then I thought it was so cool!

OMG! I frickin' hate this. Enormous clutter.

Ridiculous.

Just get a Flokati rug.

@tarsengreen

YES! that's hilarious!

This is one of the most amusing threads in a long time! Fake sheep make people so lighthearted! I must remember this at the next dull dinner party. . . .

suziegoombs, yes, there are people (strange, strange people) who have their departed pets freeze-dried in lifelike positions and then keep them around the house. That's what popped into my mind--I didn't even think of taxidermy! Duh.

Studiostarter, you cracked me up twice! Most farmers would pay to GET RID of sheep stools. . . . (I'm sorry. I couldn't help myself.)

I like the sheep idea. It just reminds me so much of the famous Rauschenberg angora goat, which has always been one of my favorite pieces of art.
Although, I think the sheep could become a figure like rowdy from scrubs...

http://www.mossonline.com/product-exec/product_id/35958/category_id/36

This is the strangest most interesting thread ever... I mean, large, faux sheep. Egads, what will they think of next. This proves to me the wacky concept that people will truly buy ANYTHING. Go ahead and make it, somebody somewhere will buy it. Just...um...bizarre...

I was the question-asker and thought I'd comment on a few things...

First, thanks everyone for the good suggestions. I don't want to DIY and a taxidermy sheep kinda gives me the creeps, but some of the others could really work. I'll certainly send in a pic when its all settled.

chesterandtrudy.... if you read all the comments now hopefully you can see what i mean by controversial. Some people think the whole idea is bizarre, others, like me, find them amusing and comforting.

LBhirise... yes, my husband does deserve some award for letting me indulge this whim. I would defend him by pointing out that he is a New Zealanader, but that in fact kinda makes it worse. He knows that visiting friends and family will never let him live it down.

As for my reasoning... I did just finish a sabbatical in NZ– where I went to visit neighboring sheep daily and grew quite attached to them. So this "sculpture" is meant as a happy reminder of that time. I am also a long-time vegan and animal-lover. So I now that I have a gigantic empty room and need to fill it, why not with a sheep or two?

And lastly, a bit about Lalanne... they aren't a new thing. The original sculptures were made in the 70s, and have graced the homes of Coco Chanel, Yves St Laurent, Marc Jacobs, Peter Marino etc. I guess they provide some sort of comforting whimsy for eccentric artsy types. I personally can't grasp why someone would want a formaldahyde shark in a tank in their living room, but then, each to his own.

abpnyc, I'm betting your husband just relishes the prospect of the grief his visiting family and friends will give him! I'd love to be a fly on the wall.

What a lovely sabbatical!

I hope that whatever sheep you settle on, you have a flock of them grazing that gigantic room.

how wonderfully random.

They are fantastic to see and sit on in person, and are not that unusual in the WASP aesthetic. Sort of like those leather hippos and animals from Abercrombie. In college I worked for a gallery and delivered a painting to a woman in downtown Chicago who had a flock of them in her apartment, overlooking east LSD. Check auction houses, I have occasionally seen them come up.

I found a site that rent something similar them by the week here http://www.bjwinslow.com/gallery/animalparts/standing_sheep_28

And the same company sells them here at about 10% the cost of designer ones.
http://www.dappercadaver.com/life-size-plush-sheep-p-1507.html

there are two very cool 1970's french "in the manner of lallane" on ebay. I missed the 1stdibs one but that was in really bad shape. Check it out under "art" sculptures "sheep". priced currently at $1,300.

Love this one:
http://www.etsy.com/listing/92154494/lalanne-style-sheep-stool-in-brown-wool