Woodcarving
Woodcarving is the shaping of figures, patterns or ornaments by removing material from a piece of wood. It can produce small useful objects, decorative panels and sculpture. Unlike modelling, which builds up a form from a soft material, carving develops the form by cutting material away.
Relief, figures and openwork
Relief carving: The design projects from a background to which it remains attached. Lowering the surrounding ground defines the outlines. Shallow relief has limited differences in height, while high relief can include strongly projecting figures and deep areas of shadow.
Figurative carving: People or animals may be represented in relief or as freestanding figures. The term describes the subject rather than the depth of the carving or whether a figure is carved fully in the round.
Openwork carving: Parts of the ground are removed completely, creating openings through the wood. The remaining material forms the design and the connections between its parts. Openwork can be combined with relief, so a panel may have both projecting figures and open spaces.
Chip carving: Geometric patterns are cut into a wooden surface, often using a knife or profiled tools. Rosettes, triangles and grid patterns are common examples. Chip carving should therefore not be used as a general term for every kind of carved figure decoration.
Material, tools and construction
The wood species and structure affect the fineness of the details that can be carved. A form may first be roughed out and then developed with flat chisels and gouges. A wooden sculpture may be carved from one piece or assembled from several parts. The surface may be left uncoated, painted or gilded. Uneven drying can cause cracks along the grain.
Documented examples
A French comb dating to the fifteenth century in the Cleveland Museum of Art is carved from a single piece of boxwood. Its openwork decoration imitates Gothic windows. LACMA holds a carved wooden panel from thirteenth-century Egypt whose original role as a furnishing or architectural element remains uncertain. These examples show that both small useful objects and larger panels may carry elaborate carving.
What the technique can tell us
When describing an older object, record its subject, relief depth, openings and construction separately. A figurative design or an openwork background does not by itself establish a country, date or religious function. Compare construction, dimensions, markings and documented history before attributing an object to a particular workshop or tradition.
