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CHAPTER 4

CARVED

MOULDINGS

The carving of architectural and frame mouldings, while resembling chip carving in the round, is a morÄ™ sophisricated activity. Carved mouldings are found in or on old buildings and on fumiture, which in the past was often treated as small-scalc architccturc, and on mirror and picturc framcs. Visit any gallcry whcre old paintings are shown and you will find an amazing array of shapes carved into or applied to frames to help to separate them from their surroundings, to make them look precious and to draw the eye in. Even gilded composition mouldings, which you can often identify by the cracks at right angles to the direction of the grain, were pressed out of negative patterns carved in wood.

The commoncst form of dccoration is a repeated pattern cut into a moulded string with a curvcd cross-section. These mouldings were originally used by the Greeks and others not only to enrich their buildings but also to help reveal the shapes of strings of wood and stone often intended to be viewed in bright light from far below. For instance, che egg and dart moulding is carved into an ovolo or quadrant section because the shadows cut into the stone or wood make its profile elear, whichcvcr way the light falls on it. FigurÄ™ 4.1 shows this effect on various mouldings.

This chapter deals with the methods of carving fivc such patterns: pea or shot, egg and dart, ribbon and stick, strap or water leaf, and gadrooning.

Unless you can get the mouldings specially prepared in limÄ™ you will have to use softwood. Look at the ends to make surÄ™ that the annual rings are very close together. Ramin and other tropical woods are generally unsuitable, although jelutong can be used.

For the pea moulding you need a torus or astragal the same widch as one of your smaller No. 8 gouges, or you can make your own as I describe below (Fig 4.2).

You will need a moulding prepared with an

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