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Carver Filter

Active dates filtered by Certitude: X Within the three Confidence groups the designs on each capital have been separated into five levels of Certitude. This separates carvings that could reasonably be attributed to an individual carver from those that have only minimal relationship to any original template. Those few noted '!!' are the core for identification and were most probably carved by the same man, while those noted '??' were clearly carved by others using a similar design. The inbetween indicate various levels of certainty. The assessments have been made by examining how closely a capital has followed the template in the '!!' group, the manner of carving and the decorative niceties. '!!' (and to a lesser extent '!') form the core group, and the rest are less likely candidates. Those that look as if they were produced by a student are usually noted '?' or '??'. This work is presented publicly in spite of its many imperfections so you may assess progress to date. I have used names so they are easier to remember, but each could represent a template used by many. Enjoy the beauty and skill in these capitals that has held me captivated for over fifty years.
!! ! !? ? ??	All

Confidence:

Within the three Confidence groups the designs on each capital have been separated into five levels of Certitude. This separates carvings that could reasonably be attributed to an individual carver from those that have only minimal relationship to any original template. Those few noted '!!' are the core for identification and were most probably carved by the same man, while those noted '??' were clearly carved by others using a similar design. The inbetween indicate various levels of certainty.

The assessments have been made by examining how closely a capital has followed the template in the '!!' group, the manner of carving and the decorative niceties. '!!' (and to a lesser extent '!') form the core group, and the rest are less likely candidates.

Those that look as if they were produced by a student are usually noted '?' or '??'.

This work is presented publicly in spite of its many imperfections so you may assess progress to date. I have used names so they are easier to remember, but each could represent a template used by many.

Enjoy the beauty and skill in these capitals that has held me captivated for over fifty years.Confidence filters the carvers listed in the left column. They are all the carvers/manners that I have been able to gather so far, and named. They are displayed in the following three levels that reflect my confidence in the attributions.

** LOW Confidence: Similar in manner but clearly by many carvers: This is the first step to group capitals with similar templates, no matter how varied the detailing.

** MEDIUM Confidence: Similar with a possibility that the more Certain were the work of one team. In this second stage the individual carvers were separated from those by colleagues or by students.

** HIGH Confidence: Similar with a patent probability that many were carved by one individual.

The combination of High Confidence and the highest two levels of Certainty '!!' and '!' are the most realistic identifications of the carvers I have yet made.

High
Medium

Carving styles (27 total)

carver?

mode?

Mode of a template offers a quick way to sort by type, such as ‚ÄúB‚Äù would group. all those with birds.

These are the Codes used in Modes

2 foliage or tendrils that are separate, two-dimensional

3 foliage or tendrils that are crossing or emerging out of another

c major part of the foliage placed in the centre of the capital

f major foliage on the flanks, supporting the upper corner

r rinceau designs, often emerging from the mouth

+ more than one row of elements

# repeatitive items place in rows and layers

<> foliage connects above the astragal, rather than rising from it.

oo elements framed, mainly in rinceau designs.

B birds or animals

cone the core form is dominant, decoration laid over it

e enchancre, though seldom consistent on all capitals.

H heads or people

geom geometric forms or lines

hang foliage hanging, at times from a head or crocket

Sp spiral rinceau designs

T^ tips of leaves extended and pointing up, or Tv pointing down

tree tree-like forms

X straps, either crossing or used instead of foliage.

confidence?

Acanthe	f+	Medium
Apple IV	r2c oo T^	Medium
Auguste	3X Tv	Medium
Banniere II	tree	Medium
Belting	r3f	Medium
Comet II	hang G	Medium
CometSon	hang	Medium
Damien	2f <>	Medium
Dowager	r2c HSp	Medium
Drago	r2f H	Medium
Earwig	r2f H	Medium
Fabian	r3f oo	Medium
Fanny	2# +	Medium
Francois	3c+ Tv <>	Medium
Frothy	2#+	Medium
Headman	cone #	Medium
Headman-2	cone #	Medium
Jacques	2f+ <>	Medium
Lazare	2f <> T^	Medium
Melinda	r3	Medium
Remy	2f <>	Medium
Roquette	2f+ <>	Medium
Treefern	tree	Medium
Tung-Long	2f+	Medium
Urbain	2f+ <>;	Medium
Vereaux	Bc	Medium
Vertical	2f <>	Medium

GATHERING SIMILAR CARVINGS among 30,000 in this study is the first step in separating the work of individuals. It has been my lifelong intention to identify some of the men who created Gothic. This is a beginning, a work in progress.
Templates were the means by which a masters communicated with his masons, and I presume that carvers were no different. The template is therefore one key element to making attributions among carvers. Among master masons I would refer you to the 250 geometric studies in The Contractors of Chartres.

TYPICAL QUESTIONS might be: What else was going on in the towns where he worked? How long would it have taken to get to distant churches? As the carvers travelled, who did they meet at different sites, and how might this have influenced their carving? Where may men have met and spent time together and shared ideas? How long was a working life, and were their first works carved in adolescence? Are the dates clustered within a reasonable timeframe for an active life? Were carvers employed by one builder or were they independent and peripatetic? On a large job would all the carvers have turned up at the same time, or singly? Did they do other skilled work such as torus moulds or decorative framing, and can we identify them?

FOUR ARTICLES

...Simples are the foundation for foliates

The Ark of God

Click here for the geometry.

......Distinguishing the Rinceau carvers from the Master Carvers Series #03. Click here for Rinceau arrangements.
.........Dating procedures from the Master Carvers Series. Click here for chronology procedures.
............Workshop procedures summary from the Laon gallery analysis. Click here for workshop procedures.

FOUR ARTICLES...Read more

Studies

These draft studies have been written as if all carvings were by an individual whereas they can equally be analysed as template modes employed by a number of carvers. The more personal approach was necessitated by the complexity of the data. The drafts will be reconsidered after I have added the rib vault material to the database.