Wood carving, like weaving, is among the oldest crafts in the world. Thousands of years ago, during the Stone Age, prehistoric people made use of different types of wood as weapons and handles for their hunting tools. Throughout the ancient civilisation, most notably in Egypt and Mesopotamia, religious figures that were carved in wood were placed in catacombs to protect the dead. The sculptors of the early Christian churches also made use of wood to demonstrate the life of Christ for worshipers—from
Disguised Symbolism Art has so many sides as to look creativity of the world. In chapter 20 Late Medieval and Early Renaissance Northern Europe by Fred S. Kleiner, you will see Disguised Symbolism which is a Bisociations of visual forms which occur so subtly that they are not directly or readily apparent to the conscious mind of the viewer. Adding onto that A Northern Renaissance technique of giving a spiritual meaning to ordinary objects in the painting so that these detail can carry the religious
The high relief of a Seated Bishop created by German sculptor Tilman Riemenschneider in 1495 is an example of a sculpture made out of wood that implements some gothic characteristics. This piece, like the other two pieces from The Cloisters museum, was completed between the transition period of the gothic style and the renaissance