Incredibly Rare 16th-Century Boxwood Carvings Are So Miniature, X-Rays Had To Be Used To Reveal Their Mysteries
These wooden miniatures might look cool from a distance, but believe me, the closer you get, the more amazing the story of these 16th-century boxwood carvings becomes.
Only 135 of these tiny carvings are known to exist and all of them are dated to a very short time frame, between 1500 and 1530 either in Flanders or the Netherlands. That can be explained with the emerging merchant social classes in Europe at the time, which could afford such exquisite religious items. But soon came the Reformation and expensive church-related artifacts went out of fashion.
Yet during that time wood artists have created some of the most incredible miniatures ever, the making of which still puzzles the researchers untill this day. Recent micro-CT scans and Advanced 3D Analysis Software helped to uncover just how detailed these tiny altars are. The inner layers are pieced together, hiding the joints so well, that only a microscope or an X-ray can detect them. The pieces also incorporate pins, thinner than a grass seed. However, much of the production process remains unknown, because traces of gold and other decoration materials conceal the X-ray views.
More info: ago. ca | youtube (h/t: colossal , boredpanda )
Researchers took these 500-year-old miniature boxwood carvings to the lab to find out their secrets
They think these miniatures were made between 1500 and 1530 in Flanders or the Netherlands
The human eye isn’t able to analyze details this tiny
So researchers used micro-CT scanning and Advanced 3D Analysis Software
To find out how intricate the pieces really are
They found joints in the inner layers so tiny that only a microscope or an X-ray can detect them
And pins, smaller than a grass seed
But even the advanced technology couldn’t see everything
Because traces of gold and other decoration materials conceal the X-ray views
The miniatures were a result of a rising new social class in Europe that created a demand for these high-quality portable religious carvings
However, soon the Reformation began and a lot of church-related accessories went out of fashion
Here’s a video explanaition:
Andrius
In cahoots with the secret orde… With nobody. In cahoots with nobody.
Hypnotizing Wilderness Landscape Carved Out Of Wood
After almost 2 years of on-and-off preparation and work, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based artist duo Paul Roden and Valerie Lueth are almost finished with their new woodcut print, called “Overlook.” The meticulously intricate woodcut of a speckled landscape with forests, mountains and lakes will be soon available as a three-color print, the final size reaching 28” x 46”.
“ Layer upon layer of undulating pattern builds a dizzying intensity in ‘Overlook’, ” write the artists. “ A panoramic infinity will be suggested by the print’s ability to eventually meet itself seemlessly at the edges, expanding like an eternal ‘wallpaper’ into an ever stretching vista! ”
The “Overlook” print will be available as a single piece, a diptych, a triptych, or “ an entire room’s worth of loping, abundant wilderness as far as the eye can see! ” – all from their Tugboat print shop.
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