energy.
Over the years man has used wood, which is an easy material to work with, in order to create artefacts, such as statues of deities and other figures.
The various craftsmen at different periods used wood to create a form of language to give expression to their view of the world around them, drawing their inspiration from the plant and animal kingdoms.
Abstraction and symbolism produced decorative patterns which, together with geometric motifs and shapes, have resulted in amazing compositions.
The basic symbols in Cyprus woodcarving are birds (symbolising love), wolves and lions (symbolising strength), the Holy Cross (symbolising the cycle of life), and angels (symbolising guardians and protectors).
Cyprus woodcarving is divided into two categories - ecclesiastical and secular.
Ecclesiastic woodcarving flourished at the beginning of the 16th century, when the tall, carved wooden iconostasis was established in the Church of Cyprus. Examples of dynamic expressions in wood can be seen carved on iconostases, despotic thrones, pulpits, candelabras, church stools, doors, windows and other church furnishings.
Secular woodcarving is divided into two categories - urban and folkloric or rural. The category of urban woodcarving includes all types of wooden furniture used by people in the towns, such as wardrobes, tables and chairs.
The main characteristic of folkoric or rural woodcarving is its effortless way of expression and lack of proportions and simplicity. Examples of this type of woodcarving are on chests, beds, chairs, shelves, wardrobes, mirrors, etc.
The carvings on these objects vary according to the owner’s social status and place of origin as regards their wealth of motifs, as well as the quality of the raw materials used. The basic kinds of timber used are pine, walnut and cypress. Wood was also used for the production of argicultural and household tools and equipment, such as ploughs, pestles and mortars, bread moulds, troughs, pack-saddles, cross-bars, looms, wooden shovels and many others.
There are several techniques for the various motifs used in woodcarving:
a) In-relief or incised - the simplest form of expression, which is rendered with shallow colourless scrapes on a flat wooden surface,
b) Relief - motifs carved out and the background removed,
c) Sharp relief - the general shapes of objects rendered with limited portrayal of the original,
d) Bold or clear relief - general shapes rendered uniformly but smaller than life.
The tools and equipment that the woodcarver used are benches, chlanchers, angles, markers, saws, planes, chisels and wooden hammers.
With the industrial revolution many consumer goods entered everyday life. Mass production has resulted in a market of a large number of uniform goods, so much so that anything which is a few years old, is now considered old fashioned. Today we live in a world where everything which is hand-made is expensive to produce and unprofitable. However, the Cyprus Handicraft Service, a department of the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism, has taken on the responsibility of reviving and maintaining this age-old tradition of woodcarving, which has been brought down through the centuries. |
