Wood sculpture

Hardly any other division of the arts covers so wide a field as that which is open before us in the study of the use of wood in its I decorative applications of every kind. The history of all the arts in all countries from the earliest Egyptian times; the schools of painting, of engraving, and of sculpture in other materials; the goldsmiths', metal workers', and even the potters' crafts; the varieties of furniture of every description, ecclesiastical and domestic ; the science and art of coins and medals; symbolism, natural history, botany, even heraldry these things and more, perhaps, confront us from time to time, and present points of contact which cannot be ignored. In endeavoring, therefore, to treat so comprehensive a subject, in a single volume, I cannot but be aware that I lay myself open to the criticism of specialists in all the many divisions with which I may have the hardihood to connect it, and I can scarcely expect to avoid the numerous pitfalls.

After about the twelfth century the quantity of available material is so great that it seemed to me that the only plan would be to restrict the general scope in the main to figure sculpture and to certain decorative work in relief, and to consider what examples could be selected which would best illustrate the evolution of the art and the influences exerted by one country on another. It may be asked why such and such a figure or other work has been included, or why such another one has been passed over. The only answer is that a choice had to be made. It was necessary, also, to draw a line somewhere, and I have done this generally speaking at the end of the Gothic period. Whole geographical divisions Russia, China, Japan, and the East have, perforce also, been left untouched.

The history of domestic furniture already possesses an extensive literature, and our present interest in it is limited to the subjects of the decoration. In the case of such divisions as chancel screens, choir stalls, misery cords, bench-ends, and the like, it has not seemed to me necessary to treat them in detail. The student who desires complete information and full lists will consult the special publications to which references will be found in the Bibliography. There are, in addition, numerous articles in the transactions of local archaeological societies.

For a work of so comprehensive a character I must admit my many disabilities and restrictions. I cannot pretend to universal knowledge of existing examples of wood sculpture, in all countries and of all ages, which may have claims for notice. In my selections I have given the preference, as a rule, to those which have come under my own notice in our home museums and in many museums and collections on the Continent. I have availed myself largely of numerous notes made at various times during several years, as well as of other assistance whenever I have found anything already collected which appeared to me to be useful. I am free, indeed, to admit that erudition, or even originality, are the least of the qualities - even if I possessed them - for which I should desire credit.

My aim is to be readable, and to set forth the subject in the simplest and most intelligible manner. This book is not addressed to those already fully acquainted with the matter, but to the inquiring English reader to whom some of it, at least, may be entirely new. The Bibliography, in fact, shows how few books exist, in English, in which any information at all - and still less, illustrations - are to be found on many details which are here discussed.