These are traditional acanthus leaf carvings that might be used to embellish furniture if carved in low relief,
or would look nice hung above a door as carved. They are carved from three different woods: bass, Honduras mahogany, and American black walnut, and offer
different treatments of the same subject. The basswood piece would be suitable for painting and is unfinished. It shows somewhat more modelling in the central portion than the other two.
The walnut piece is not sanded, but rather has a tooled surface showing facets produced from the strokes of the chisels. The background was cut very cleanly, and then punched with a toothed
piece of steel which breaks up the light and makes the carving jump out a bit more than the tooled background of the mahogany piece. Notice too, that the terminal leaves of the walnut piece
swirl as opposed to the smooth surface of the same leaves on the mahogany. All of the variances are purely a matter of taste and should be considered in relation to use as well. The deeper modelling
and tooled surfaces tend to be more attractive if the piece will be hung at a distance so the design is still bold, and the smoother finishes may be preferred for higher lighting, and closer viewing.
Personally, I prefer the tooled surface as it shows more clearly the work of the carver, and the clarity of the finish is a bit higher than for sanded. Sanding softens the work, and regardless of how fine
the paper, there is some fuzziness to the surface that obstructs the beauty of the wood itself.
