Grinling Gibbons and the Art of Carving

David Esterly’s classic study of Grinling Gibbons, Grinling Gibbons and the Art of Carving, has been reissued to mark the 300th anniversary of the death of the greatest of decorative woodcarvers.

Esterly’s first-hand experience of limewood foliage carving gave him unprecedented insight into Gibbons’s methods and techniques. Unique photographs illustrate these procedures, while spectacular interior shots show the carving in its setting. Esterly places Gibbons in his historical context, and shows how the carver’s invention of his style is linked with the dramatic events of his early life. Tools, workshop practice, materials and finishes are also dealt with in detail, giving the book a special appeal for practitioners as well as for those with interest in 17th-century interiors and the decorative arts generally.

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