The carver who made wooden flowers so thin they look like paper

Found carving by candlelight in 1671, he became the king's master carver.

By Made Over Weekend · 3 min read

Grinling Gibbons was born in 1648 into an English merchant family living in Rotterdam. At 19 he moved to England, worked for a short time in York, and then settled near the docks at Deptford, where he carved for ships.

In January 1671 the diarist John Evelyn walked past a small, poor thatched house in Deptford and looked in through the window. Inside, a young man was carving a large panel of the Crucifixion, copied from an engraving of a painting by Tintoretto. Evelyn wrote down what he saw.

I saw the young man at his carving, by the light of a candle.

John Evelyn, diary, 1671

Evelyn was so impressed that he introduced Gibbons to Christopher Wren, Samuel Pepys and King Charles II. By 1677 Gibbons was working at Windsor Castle. In 1693 he was named the King's Master Carver. His work went into St Paul's Cathedral, Hampton Court Palace, Petworth House and Blenheim Palace, and one account says as many as 50 people worked for him. He died in 1721.

How it was built

Gibbons worked mostly in limewood. It is pale, soft and even in the grain, so a sharp tool can leave leaf edges and stems very thin. He cut deep behind each petal and leaf, which the V&A calls undercutting, so the edges stand free of the background and look almost paper thin. Where a swag of fruit and flowers needed bulk, he built it up with rough blocks of wood hidden behind the carving. He left the limewood pale and set it against dark oak panelling so it stands out.

His most famous small piece is a life size lace cravat, carved around 1690 and now in the V&A. It weighs 148 grams. Its owner in the 1700s, the writer Horace Walpole, wore it in 1769 to receive foreign visitors. The museum record says their French servants stared and believed it was the dress of an English country gentleman.

What it teaches a weekend woodworker

You do not need a palace to try this. In North America limewood goes by the name basswood, the same tree family, and it is sold in small blocks for carving. Draw one leaf on a block about an inch thick. Clamp the block to the bench so both hands stay free and behind the blade. Cut the outline with a sharp carving knife, then slope the wood down toward the edges and carve shallow veins. Keep every cut moving away from your hands, and take thin shavings rather than big bites.

One leaf will teach you how grain behaves better than any book. Make a few, then build a simple wooden frame to hang the best one in. That is a full weekend project, and a fine start.