The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 letter word STATUARY
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
S
T
A
T
U
A
R
Y
More clues leading to the result STATUARY
- Sculptures or other form of art, say, divided by working group
- Excited at a rusty example of art
- Stuart A. played with Yes, the rock group?
- David etc ratty, as upset about university
- Works of art, say, laid out to engage you in the Louvre?
- Sculptures remain around north Indian clan
- Idol at Uttarakhand's capital got kidnapped by Yankee for art
- Improve ratty USA figures
- Pieces of sculpture mostly standing on a pair of parallel lines
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "example of art" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case example of art = statuary.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.
What does STATUARY mean?
STATUARY noun- The craft of making statues.
- A person who makes or deals in statues.
- Statues considered collectively.