Jane Wenley
See more from JaneHunted by Sauron’s Ringwraiths, Frodo and his Hobbit companions flee into the wilderness, led by the mysterious Strider. By secret ways, the ranger guides them across country to Amon Sûl, a lonely hill east of Bree where long ago his Númenórean ancestors built a watchtower. Known as Weathertop, the bare, ruin-studded hill affords a wide view of the lands about, and the companions had hoped to find sign of the missing Wizard Gandalf.
Any hope of rest is soon shattered when a Nazgûl scream pierces the air: the enemy has found them! Frodo, Sam, Merry and Pippin are surrounded by five black-cowled Ringwraiths as they huddle amid the broken stones, swords drawn. But the Halflings are no match for the Wraiths, who bat Frodo’s companions aside with disinterest as the Witch-king, their lord, advances on the stumbling Ringbearer.
Unable to resist, Frodo thrusts the One Ring onto his finger and is plunged into the grey spirit world of Ring-sight. No longer an empty black robe, the Witch-king is revealed to Frodo in his true form, fell and terrible to behold. Beneath a bladed crown he glows with an unearthly light; a tall white being of ghostly skin drawn about sunken features, wispy hair whipped by an ethereal tempest, and a long, jagged blade in his luminous hand as he reaches for the Ring.
FEATURES:
As a sculptor this piece was really interesting to work on. There’s so many elements that you have to think about: the flowing of the fabric, the otherworldly mist, Frodo’s intense expression on his face and the tension between him and the Witch-king. It made it a really great challenge and also stretched me as an artist.
CREATING THE WITCH-KING & FRODO AT WEATHERTOP
Packing an armature into her San Diego Comic-Con suitcase, Wētā Workshop sculptor Jane Wenley began the piece in the thick of the action in 2018. The sculpture evolved over a period of two years, with the statue’s composition and detail undergoing an evolution driven by co-founder and creative director, Richard Taylor. Watch our creative journey unfold in our two-part series on the making of this collectible.
Witch-King & Frodo at Weathertop: The Making of a Collectible, Part 1:
Witch-King & Frodo at Weathertop: The Making of a Collectible, Part 2:
Please note: images are of a pre-production prototype. Each sculpture is hand painted and minor variations will occur.