Rotorua man Nigel Yockney has become part of the furniture.
The 72-year-old commissioned local sculptor George Andrews to create a 123kg bronze, life-size replica of himself.
It is seated on the porch of his home.
The piece of art took more than a year to create and was finished on Friday.
Mr Yockney's sculpture is seen reading from a book which has his family coat of arms on the left-hand page and a note in his handwriting on the right-hand page explaining why the sculpture was made.
Wife Sue Yockney said she and her husband had admired bronze sculptures they had seen in the UK and were inspired to get one for their own garden.
"We were in Edinburgh in 2012, that's where we got the idea," she said.
"We've got quite a big entrance-way and we wanted to liven it up a bit, we just thought of something, but it didn't have to be Nigel. It was just going to be a person but George suggested doing someone in the family.
"It's something that will grow on everyone," Mrs Yockney said.
The creation had special significance as it was seated on a chair which she had refurbished and had been in her family for 100 years.
"It's a combination of both our families," she said.
Mr Andrews said it was exciting to create a model of someone who was able to see it.
"It's totally so much better because you interact with them and you know them as a person, which makes a lot of difference to your approach.
"I am puzzled by it still, and puzzled in the sense that what exactly it is.
"You are looking at your achievement, looking at Nigel, and the book talks about his relationships with his family and history, and the book is nice because it's got his handwriting. It holds together, its got sculptural integrity."