Wood Carvings
The term "wood carving" covers a broad area. It encompasses everything from a simple, hand-cut decoration on the leg of a chair to the most exquisite wood sculpture. But it is the wood sculpture that interests collectors of wood carvings. In one form or another, wood carving is almost as old as man.In Egypt, Arabia, and the other Mohammedan countries of Northern Africa, wood carving remained decorative and was used primarily to adorn furniture and other articles in daily use. There was no statuary. In the Negro countries of Africa, on the other hand, wood carving remained essentially religious, consisting largely of sculptured images of pagan gods and living beings. Far Eastern wood carvings were generally done as architectural decoration, though Chinese sculptors have carved many excellent representations of Buddha.
European and early American wood carving, like that of the Far East, was largely decorative, but its use began to decline early in the nineteenth century. More recently, wood has become a medium for sculpture, particularly in Germany, Denmark, Czechoslovakia, and the United States. The natives of Africa (while continuing to develop religious themes) are also producing excellent sculpture of their continent's wild animals, and some very discerning portraits of their fellow men.
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May 13, 2008