What is Carving?

Carving is the act of using tools to shape something from a material by

scraping away portions of that material. The technique can be applied
to any material that is solid enough to hold a form even when pieces
have been removed from it, and yet soft enough for portions to be
scraped away with available tools.
Wood
Wood is the common medium in carving but being water absorbent
and vulnerable to insects and airborne fungi, wood can degrade quite
rapidly. As a result, bronze, marble and other types of stone have been
preferred for monumental works.
Prehistoric Scuplture
Experts have traditionally believed that the earliest sculpted objects,
cut from ivory, horn, bone, or stone, dated from about 27,000 to
32,000 years ago. But discoveries in the early 2000s suggest that
prehistoric people in Africa began carving objects even earlier. In 2006
Norwegian researchers reported finding a rock in a cave in Botswana
that resembles the head of a python, an animal important in the rituals
of the San people. The rock has markings made by humans and
appears to date from about 70,000 years ago.
Venus of Willendorf
This so-called Venus figurine from the area of Willendorf, Austria, is one
of the earliest known examples of sculpture, dating from about 23,000
bc. The figure, which is carved out of limestone, is only cm (4.5 in) high,
and was probably designed to be held in the hand. It is believed the
Venus may be a fertility symbol, which would explain the exaggerated
female anatomy.
Egyptian Sculture
Among the oldest Egyptian sculptures is a piece of slate carved in low
relief, known as the Palette of King Narmer (3100? bc), Egyptian
Museum, Cairo). It portrays the victory of Upper over Lower Egypt,
depicting the kings, armies, servants, and various animals. The kings
(pharaohs) were also commemorated in magnificent life- size statues,
set in funerary temples and tombs (see Egyptian Art and Architecture).
Egyptian Sculture (Khafre)
This seated stone figure of Egyptian king Khafre, from the 2500s bc,
was carved from a solid block of diorite, the hardest stone available at
the time of the Old Kingdom in Egypt. The piece stands 165 cm (66 in)
high and is an idealized representation of the king, with strong
geometric lines and dramatic proportions.
Aegan and Greek Sculpture
Aegean art includes Minoan sculpture, such as terra-cotta and ivory
statuettes of goddesses, and Mycenaean works, consisting of small
carved ivory deities. The Greeks, masters of stone carving and bronze
casting, created some of the greatest sculpture known. Working on a
monumental scale, they brought depiction of the human form to
perfection between the 7th and 1st centuries bc.
Strangfold Apollo
The Strangford Apollo is a marble kouros figure (statue of a young man)
from Anaphe, Greece. It was carved around 500 bc, toward the close of
the Archaic period. Its anatomy is more naturalistic than earlier Archaic
figures.
Terra-Cotta Tomb Figures
More than 6,000 life-size terra-cotta soldiers and horses were produced
for the tomb of the first Chinese emperor, Qin Shihuangdi. The figures
remained buried near his burial mound from 210 bc until their
discovery in These highly individualized armed figures reveal not only a
great degree of artistic achievement, but also a disregard for the
human and capital costs that characterized the Qin dynasty.
Roman Sculpture
The Romans were avid collectors and imitators of Greek sculpture, and
modern historians are indebted to their copies for knowledge of lost
Greek originals. Their distinctive contribution to the art of sculpture
was realistic portraiture, in which they recorded even the homeliest
facial details. The Romans’ sense of the importance of historic events is
evident in many sculptured commemorative monuments in Rome, such
as the Arch of Titus (ad 81?), Trajan’s Column (106?- 113 AD), and the
equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius (175?); the last- named became
the prototype for most later equestrian sculptures. See Etruscan
Civilization: Art and Architecture; Roman Art and Architecture.