Chipping Away

A year and three months ago (almost) I did a post on my theories concerning the making of a roof-shaped box or chest lid out of a solid log section. I had hardly had time to touch it after that until October, when I decided that I really wanted to get back into one of my medieval projects; it had been so long since I worked on any of them. (I have several underway thanks to my ADD - most of which have been featured at one or more points in this blog.) After finishing the painting of the moulding that I had been working on, I had almost a week before the installation was scheduled, so took advantage of the time to take up the lid project again.

The lid as it was in September of 2018

Once I got started on it again, it was easier to pick up a carving gouge and have a go at it at any moment I could spare, thus, about two weeks ago it was mostly finished. I have even begun the box itself, but that will also take quite a while, as it will be carved to the same level as the lid. Sadly, I did not have any more of the ash, so I will be making the box out of walnut.

Bellow are some pictures of the lid as it is at the present; two years after it got started.

Second end

Back side. This is a "textile pattern" made to represent woven cloth

Current view of the first end and front

The winter light is not very ideal for photographing anything, but that is what we have to deal with right now. Bears are much smarter than humans, they go to sleep and wait for spring.

Carving the back was somewhat amusing, because I chose a "simple" design. Many surviving 12th century boxes have simpler and/or textile designs either painted or carved on the back, and all of the early medieval boxes I know of, have simpler designs to their backs. Using that information and a lovely 7th century textile pattern, carved in stone and now found in the museum in Metz, I came up with a pattern for my lid. The amusing bit is that it may look simple, but the time to carve it was no less, and perhaps actually wound up being more, than the design on the front.

Inspiration for the rear of the lid

And as it turned out after carving

The designs for this project are taken from surviving 7th century Merovingian or Lombardisch stone carving. Some of the patterns are also echoed in metal and ivory-work of the same time period, which leads me to believe that had any wooden box survived from the same time period, it well could have had similar designs carved onto it, and thus my lid is a faithful reproduction of the possibilities of the time-period.

This lion was the main source
for my lions; adapted to the
carving style I am using

Additional designs and sources for border decorations/
All of my border designs were taken from 7th century sources

I had begun this side in December of 2017 and in September '18 when I posted
about it for the first time I had done some more. More than half , however, was
done this October. Even areas which had been "finished" were re-done because
the grounding (background area) was not deep enough. The darker areas
are still from my original efforts of two years ago.

European areas which had been occupied by Roman civilisation still retained many of the "classical" design elements in the 7th century. These styles were actually never completely eliminated and show up to more or lesser degrees until the Renaissance, when there was another deliberate attempt at wholesale imitate the art of classical Rome. (there had been at least two prior efforts at this, in the 9th and the end of the 10th/beginning of the 11th centuries) Most of the designs for this lid have some connection towards that Roman tradition, as did the stone reliefs from which I sourced the designs, however, as with a lot of my original source material, there were also "Migration People's" design elements interspersed. Such is the case with the "Flechtwerk" or woven band on the top of the lid.

Flechtwerk, "Woven-band" ornament on the flat top of the lid

As I said, the box itself has been started and here is a sneak-peek at one of the legs. Again, In Italy, France, and much of Eastern Germany, the 7th century still much more resembled Roman society than it resembled the arts architecture, culture, and styles of modern people's general conception of "medieval" Europe. (which is mostly that of the 13-15th centuries) Thus this leg is right in keeping with that fading classicism that would have prevailed in much of 7th century Europe.  

One of the legs, taken from a
7th century stone sarcophagus
found in France
(there are actually several
similar designs, not just a
single example)