Steve0 Posted October 30, 2012 Report Share Posted October 30, 2012 These are carved in the Pre-Columbian "string cut" style prevalent in what is nowadays Costa Rica region before they turned from stone work to gold work. The black one is known as an axe god. The figure flanking it are also carved in the "string cut" style. A cordage string was pulled back and forth with abrasive mud applied as the cutting agent. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bella Nicol Posted November 2, 2012 Report Share Posted November 2, 2012 They are very interesting! I did not know string was used to create this type of carving, WOW. That would be incredibly time consuming. Thank you for sharing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marz willis Posted December 6, 2012 Report Share Posted December 6, 2012 nice work... by string do they mean sinue?or like a hemp type string? lets us know... please. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve0 Posted December 6, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 6, 2012 I'm not sure what type of string or cordage was used but I would guess against it being any type of sinew or other animal product made into cordage. They stretch and degrade VERY quickly when wet. Probably some type of woven or twisted cord of a strong plant fiber in plentiful amounts; readily accessible to the carvers. They may have used bow saws strung with said cord and added the mud slurry of jade, quartz or other equally hard powdered stone to abrade the incisions and designs in the pieces. Here is a pic of Chinese men using a string saw to cut a jade boulder in the 1930's. Hope this helps. PS- mine were carved with traditional tools to emulate the string carved style. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mace ngata Posted December 30, 2012 Report Share Posted December 30, 2012 Thanks for these insights, and sharing what you have done with them i am always spellbound with the designs that predominantly pre metal and modern machine cultures came up with.The answers they found to solve problems , and the designs that show an in depth appreciation both of the material and the techniques developed to work with them . a lot of the designs like these ones i find much more appealing than some of the more intricate modern designs that machines help us to explore , they have an individuality , a sense of timeless permanence, and presence about them that is hard to replicate. Cheers mace. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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