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.
Rocaille
Large Greyhound Statue
£ 2500
Vintage House
Large Far Eastern Painted Wooden Lady Statue
£ 495
Windsor House Antiques
Pair of Well Carved Late 19th Century Trophies
£ 1850
Alain Michel Antiques
Gothic Period Angle In Walnut - 15th Century - Flanders
€ 4600
Ripley Antiques
Set of 3 Black Forest Carvings of Deer, Wall Plinths
£ 175
Windsor House Antiques
Very Well Carved Early 20th Century Temple Dog
£ 195
£ 2900
£ 750
Matthew Coles Antiques
Vintage Wooden Carved Angel
£ 475
Robert Pagden Antiques
1920s English Whirligig
£ 325
Allsorts Antiques and Collectibles
Gold Gilt Deity
£ 495
Charmantiques
French Antique Large Hand Carved Wooden Lantern
£ 370
Campbell Vintage
Driftwood Sculpture on Stand
£ 320
£ 565
Marylebone Antiques
Antique Carved Wood Classical Sculpture
£ 525
Museum of Treasure
Carved Hardwood Ruyi Scepters, China, 20th Century
£ 700
Museum of Treasure
Carved Hardwood Ruyi Scepters, China, 20th Century
£ 700
Museum of Treasure
Green Jade Carving of 5 Poison Animals 'Protection' China - 19th Century
£ 800
Green Jade Carving of 5 Poison Animals 'Protection' China - 19th Century
£ 800
Museum of Treasure
Museum of Treasure
Late 19th Century Chinese Green Jade Carving of Ox
£ 1400
Museum of Treasure
Chinese Nephrite Jade Carving of Recumbant Dog
£ 1999
Windsor House Antiques
Carved Japanese Figure of a Cat Playing With a Dogfish
£ 600
Museum of Treasure
Chinese Nephrite Jade Carving of a Mythical Beast with the Flaming Pearl
£ 1400
Chinese Nephrite Jade Carving of a Mythical Beast with the Flaming Pearl
£ 1400
Museum of Treasure
£ 2600
Unusual Pale Celadon Jade Carving of Coiled Chilong Dragons, China, 19th Century
£ 2600
Museum of Treasure
Museum of Treasure
A Small Chinese Jade Figure of a Buddhist Lion and Its Cub
£ 1700
Alain Michel Antiques
Saint John In Carved Wood - 17th Century North Germany
€ 2800
£ 950
An Unusual Chinese Gold Mounted Jade Crouching Hotei with Red Cabochons Stones
£ 950
Museum of Treasure
Museum of Treasure
19th Century Chinese Green Jade Carved Amulet
£ 850
Museum of Treasure
20th Century Nephrite / Jade Carving of a Foo Dog
£ 600
Museum of Treasure
19th Century Chinese Apple Green Jade Carved Amulet
£ 850
Museum of Treasure
Chinese Carved Tiger's Eye Scalar or Sailfin Fish Group on Stand
£ 700
Museum of Treasure
Chinese Nephrite / Jade Carving of a Temple Guardian Dog 19th Century
£ 500
Chinese Nephrite / Jade Carving of a Temple Guardian Dog 19th Century
£ 500
Museum of Treasure
Museum of Treasure
Chinese Jade Bird on Rosewood Stand - Qing Dynasty
£ 800
Museum of Treasure
19th Century Pair of Chinese Carved Hardwood Figures
£ 250
Georgian Antiques
Pair of Carved Hardwood Chinese Peasants Sitting on Water Buffalos
£ 550
£ 96
Marlborough Antiques & Interiors
Hand Carved Semi Precious Stone Cockatoo
£ 495
£ 495
Antique Apprentice's Stone Carving - York Stone - Decorative - Victorian
£ 495
London Fine Ltd
Campbell Vintage
African Wooden Mortar Sculpture Carved As A Head
£ 185
Chester's Farm Antiques
John Fox 1927-1991 Carved Lacewood Standing Otter Figure c.1960
£ 185
Cheshire Antiques Consultant
Small Collectible Religious 19th Century Carved Fruitwood St Paul Sculpture
£ 925
Small Collectible Religious 19th Century Carved Fruitwood St Paul Sculpture
£ 925
Cheshire Antiques Consultant