Late Gothic Boxwood Microcarvings from the Low Countries
Edited by Frits Scholten. Text by Barbara Drake Boehm, Pete Dandridge, Lisa Ellis, Reindert Falkenburg, Ingmar Reesing, Frits Scholten, Sasha Suda.
Teeming with life, these astounding miniature worlds are virtuoso triumphs of the Late Gothic
This volume reveals the extraordinary artistry of the miniature boxwood carvings of the early 16th century—works so small they can fit in the palm of your hand. These ingeniously constructed, wonderfully detailed works depicting biblical scenes were made for private devotion and amusement. Presenting 60 statuettes, miniature altars, prayer nuts, rosaries, skulls and other pendants, Small Wonders is the first examination of these pocket-sized Late Gothic carvings from the Low Countries. The techniques employed to transform these small objects into miniature worlds, teeming with life, have long defied comprehension. Now, through collaborative work by conservators at the Art Gallery of Ontario and The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the artists' secrets have been unlocked. The Thomson Collection at the Art Gallery of Ontario and The Metropolitan Museum of Art constitute the largest and most significant collections of late Medieval and Renaissance boxwood production; the Rijksmuseum possesses a prayer bead inscribed with its original owner’s name, together with its copper case and velvet pouch. A tiny triptych, a hinged bead carved inside and out, an opening coffin and skull with images worthy of Halloween, and a rosary given to King Henry VIII are among the approximately 40 marvelous carvings featured. These and other small wonders were specially photographed for this bulky miniature publication, gorgeously designed by Dutch designer Irma Boom, to fully reveal all their thrilling detail.
Featured image is reproduced from 'Small Wonders.'
PRAISE AND REVIEWS
The New York Times
Eve M. Kahn
Unlocking the secrets of boxwood miniatures...centuries-old beads, spheres and pendants, with elaborately carved tableaus
New York Review of Books
Tamsin Shaw
The artist wants to remind us that if we look closely, with the right kind of attention, we will see that deep love and deep pain are built into the structure of the universe.
The New York Times
Holland Cotter
The show’s exquisite catalog is, appropriately, prayer book-size.
Small Wonders came right on time (even if it is going to sell out immediately). Published on the occasion of an exhibition that opened today at the Met Cloisters, which will travel to the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto and the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, this book and the tiny treasures it holds offer up the perfect dose of amazement and escape during a time in which our daily tasks can seem unbearably large. Small Wonders is all about prayer nuts: miniscule boxwood carvings from the late-Gothic period that depict religious scenes and texts. Though the heyday for prayer nuts was nearly 500 years ago, dozens remain in the watchful possession of museums, many of which are included in this remarkable volume. continue to blog
FORMAT: Hbk, 5 x 7 in. / 690 pgs / 774 color. LIST PRICE: U.S. $60.00 LIST PRICE: CANADA $79 ISBN: 9789491714931 PUBLISHER: nai010 publishers/Rijksmuseum AVAILABLE: 2/28/2017 DISTRIBUTION: D.A.P. RETAILER DISC: TRADE PUBLISHING STATUS: Out of print AVAILABILITY: Not available TERRITORY: NA LA ME
Small Wonders Late Gothic Boxwood Microcarvings from the Low Countries
Published by nai010 publishers/Rijksmuseum. Edited by Frits Scholten. Text by Barbara Drake Boehm, Pete Dandridge, Lisa Ellis, Reindert Falkenburg, Ingmar Reesing, Frits Scholten, Sasha Suda.
Teeming with life, these astounding miniature worlds are virtuoso triumphs of the Late Gothic
This volume reveals the extraordinary artistry of the miniature boxwood carvings of the early 16th century—works so small they can fit in the palm of your hand. These ingeniously constructed, wonderfully detailed works depicting biblical scenes were made for private devotion and amusement. Presenting 60 statuettes, miniature altars, prayer nuts, rosaries, skulls and other pendants, Small Wonders is the first examination of these pocket-sized Late Gothic carvings from the Low Countries.
The techniques employed to transform these small objects into miniature worlds, teeming with life, have long defied comprehension. Now, through collaborative work by conservators at the Art Gallery of Ontario and The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the artists' secrets have been unlocked. The Thomson Collection at the Art Gallery of Ontario and The Metropolitan Museum of Art constitute the largest and most significant collections of late Medieval and Renaissance boxwood production; the Rijksmuseum possesses a prayer bead inscribed with its original owner’s name, together with its copper case and velvet pouch. A tiny triptych, a hinged bead carved inside and out, an opening coffin and skull with images worthy of Halloween, and a rosary given to King Henry VIII are among the approximately 40 marvelous carvings featured. These and other small wonders were specially photographed for this bulky miniature publication, gorgeously designed by Dutch designer Irma Boom, to fully reveal all their thrilling detail.
