Unlike items cast using a mould and hot metals, carved items require the artist to slowly chip away at the block of material to ‘reveal’ the artwork within. This is usually achieved using metal chisels and a mallet to add more force to the blow but can also include chip carving where just a chisel with no mallet is used, and whittling which uses a sharp knife instead of a chisel. The most common materials to carve are wood and stone and examples of these have been found to date back many thousands of years. No matter what the age, the skill of the artist is to understand how the material has been formed and where the natural weaknesses are so they can work in harmony with them. Those working in wood will know that carving with the grain is far more effective than against the grain (which chips more easily) and that a tighter grain will hold more detail. Similarly a competent stone mason will know how soft or hard each type of stone is and how it should break or chip even before they hit it.
For those who collect carvings the love is often both for the skill of the craftsperson to bring that piece to life, as well as the way it has continued to age over time. The inherent moisture and internal pressures in wood will cause it to crack and bend over time as if still somehow alive, and stone left out in the weather will slowly wear away the details and become home to moss, lichen and more. It is this ability for carvings to constantly evolve even after they have been completed which make antique and vintage pieces so much more special than new examples.
At LoveAntiques we have a fine selection of Antique and Vintage carvings for all your needs.
Antique Decorative Bear Figure, Japanese, Carved Cedar, Kibori Kuma, Folk Art
£ 985
London Fine Ltd
Large Antique Polychrome Carved Wood Sculpture - St. Anthony & Child – Czech
£ 2,650
artsonline.org.uk
Pair of Vintage Serbian Folk Art Carved Wooden Figures Traditional Costume
£ 160
Hendle's Hoard
An Interesting Walnut Sculpture Of A Madonna Seated On A Throne, Circa 1570
£ 2,450
Koos Limburg Jnr
Chinese Limestone Buddha Head – Ming Dynasty or Earlier – Fine Ancient Sculpture
£ 1,250
artsonline.org.uk
Early 20th Century Gabon Fang Byeri Reliquary Guardian Head – African Tribal Art
£ 290
artsonline.org.uk
Large Elizabethan Polychrome Oak Figure of Charity
£ 6,875
Newark Antiques and Interiors Ltd
Large Vintage Grand-tour Style Classical Cast Plaster Sculpture 20th Century
£ 310
artsonline.org.uk
Monumental Chinese Carved Hardwood Sculpture of Guardian King (Lokapala)
£ 1,695
Robert Belcher Antiques
Antique Burmese Pegu Bronze Figurine Sculpture Carrying a Burden on Carved Stand
£ 275
artsonline.org.uk
Léon-Joseph Chavalliaud – Monumental Marble Bust of Mayor James Robert Creighton 1895
£ 20,000
Cheshire Antiques Consultant LTD
Vintage Carved Wooden Head of African Lady with Jewellery Standing
£ 95
Elder Books & Collectables
Large Antique Quality Carved Linden Wood Japanese Bear Carrying a Fish
£ 1,385
London City Antiques
Large Unusual Male Bust Rare Hand Carved Vintage Head in Limewood
£ 550
Elder Books & Collectables
Interesting Collection of 9 Chinese Wood Carvings Showing The Daily Life In China
£ 375
Koos Limburg Jnr
Wall-mounted Sculpture of Four Sandpipers, Carved, Painted and with Bound Copper Wire, Mounted on a Moulded Framed Panel by Guy Taplin
£ 3,800
Wick Antiques Ltd
Pair of Very Tall Japanese Meji Period Hardwood Carvings of a Warrior and an Elder in Long Robes
£ 875
Georgian Antiques
Carved Devotional Figure of the Madonna & Christ Child c.1900
£ 2,550
Marlborough Antiques & Interiors
Pair of Swiss / Black Forest Carved Limewood Medieval Dancing Figures c.1930
£ 1,195
Robert Belcher Antiques
Art Deco Period Dugout Real Pair of Impressive Elephant Arm Chairs
£ 5,500
Koos Limburg Jnr
Original Wood Sculpture Driftwood’ by Harry Walton (1920-2009) Signed & Dated Verso 1960 Provenance; Bought from His Studio
£ 220
21st Century Gallery
