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Carving : Wood Carving

Carving refer to a skilll of craftsmanship that etal tools are needed o be applied on the workpieces. The tools must be solid enough to carve, or to mark on the surface of objests. The materials used for carving are wood, stone, bone, horn, ivory, leather, metal, paper, or even vegetables and fruits.

Wood has been largely used in Thai architecture. Wood carving works usually appear as decorative parts of buildings, such as 'cho fah' (hornlike final on the roof ridge), 'bai raka' (toothlike ridges on the slopping edges of a gable), 'hang hong' (small finials jutting our of corners of the gabble), 'han tuai' (eaves brackets), doors and windows.

The process of wood carving begins with pattern designing. The patterns will be drafted on a piece of wood. An artisan will shape the wood into a workpiece, and elaborately carve the detailed patterns on it. To finish the workpiece, the artisan will apply a particular technique to decorate the artworks the techniques, to decorate the artworks. The techniques that are widely used with wood carving are oil enameling, lacquering and gold leaf gilding, mirrored glass inlay, mother-of-pearl inlay, painting, gilded black lacquering and 'Lai Kam Ma Lo' Zblack rak lacquer surface painting).

Some masterpieces of wood carving made by the royal artisans in the pas are 'som ruan kaeo' (a backpiece in the from of crossbar) of Phra Buddha Chinnarat, dated between Sukhothai Period to Early Ayutthaya Period (15th - 16th Century), and a sermon pulpit and a pulpil for chanting, dated in Late Ayutthaya Period (17th - 18th Century) at Wat Phra Sri Rattana Mahathat, Phitsanulok Province, 'sum kuha 'nice) of the stupa at Wat Pra Sri Samphet, Phra Nakhon Sri Ayutthaya Province, dated in early Ayoutthaya Period (15th - 16th Century), the door and the door facade of 'ho trai', or Tripitalake hall of Wat Rakang Khositaram, dated between Thonburi Period to Rattanakosin Period (early 19th Century), Phra Vihara Khot (L-shaped Vihara) of Wat Phra Chethuphol, and the door of Wat Suthat Thepphawararam, date in Rattanakosin Period (early to middle 19th Century), Bangkok.

The main purpose of modern royal artisans is to repair the artworks made by the royal artisan from the past. Wood carving conducted by modern royal artisan concentrates on repairing the ancient artworks created by the royal artisans in the past. Some significant pieces, which have been repaired, are 'budsabok kren' (liftable throne) of the royal viceroy, the throne seat and 'chat' (the multi-tiered umberllo) of Kin Pin Klao, the royal cariot and the royal jbarge at the National Museum in Bangkok, and the palanquin from Wat Phra Sri Rattana Mahathat, Phitsanulok Province, et.

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