Collectors often dismiss a fine thing because they consider it too small. I find myself sometimes asking, does it measure up? But when you really get down to it, often the smallest things are the most impressive. Think about the skill and patience it takes to carve something that's just 4 inches tall. In many cases, that's harder to do than carving a block of wood three times as large. Both carvings pictured here are in the 4-inch range, yet they have a lot of detail and character. The second one, in particular, is a grabber: the man sits in a chair, that's on a ball in a cage, that's on a book. And the paint is great. Here's to the small-fry carving. It rocks.
I absolutely agree.....to both statements! As a collector, I'm always looking first and foremost at the character of the piece and whether it transcends the form. Then, I'm absolutely guilty of taking size into account. If it's a great carving and BIG, all the better. But, when I really think about it, some of my favorite pieces are probably small-fry carvings that are under 6 inches.
ReplyDeleteI agree that size can be misleading. I have a whole shelf of very small
ReplyDeletecarvings that are jewel like and beautiful. But they do get lost in the
collection and it seems it takes a special person to notice them.