What is Wood carving?
[[File:Woodcarvings of cranes.jpg|thumbnail|280px|right|Carved wooden [[Crane (bird)|cranes]]]] [[File:Rothenburg ob der Tauber 2011 St Jakob 002.JPG|thumb|280px|Detail of the [[Last Supper]] from [[Tilman Riemenschneider]]'s ''Altar of the Holy Blood'', 1501-05, Rothenburg, [[Bavaria]]]] [[File:Work of Master Woodcarver Alexander A. Grabovetskiy.jpg|280px|thumb|Work of Master Woodcarver Alexander A. Grabovetskiy]] [[File:carving tools 2.jpg|thumb|right|280px|A selection of woodcarving hand tools: 3 fishtail gouges, a v-parting tool, 4 straight gouges, 3 spoon gouges, and a carvers mallet]] '''Wood carving''' is a form of [[Woodworking|working wood]] by means of a cutting [[tool]]. A [[chisel]] or [[knife]] are usual tools: the chisel can be tapped with a wooden mallet. The result is a wooden figure, or the [[sculpture|sculptural]] ornamentation of a wooden object. A 'wood carving' may also refer to the finished product. The making of [[sculpture]] in wood has a long history. Wood survives much less well than the other materials such as [[stone]] and [[bronze]]. It is vulnerable to decay, insect damage, and fire. Therefore, we do not know much about wood in the [[art history]] of older cultures.<ref>See for example Martin Robertson 1981. ''A shorter history of Greek art''. Cambridge University Press, p. 9. {{ISBN|0-521-28084-2}}, {{ISBN|978-0-521-28084-6}} [https://books.google.com/books?id=BoUsvD1_VNQC&dq=%22monumental+sculpture%22&pg=PA9 Google books]</ref> Outdoor wood sculptures do not last long in most parts of the world, so that we have little idea how the [[totemism|totem pole]] [[Custom|tradition]] developed. Many of the most important sculptures of [[China]] and [[Japan]] are in wood, also most [[Africa]]n sculpture and that of [[Oceania]] and other regions. Wood is light, so it is suitable for [[mask]]s and other objects meant to be carried. It can take very fine detail, and is also much easier to work than stone. Some of the finest examples of early European wood carving are from the [[Middle Ag