Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-07-11
OLD WOOD CARVINGS.
Thirteenth Century Product Compared
With Egypt's Of 5000 B. c.

From the London woodworker
Although in the priory at Christ Church
Hants, at Westminster Abbey, Salisbury
Cathedral and in a few other of our an
cient ministers, there may be seen today
miserere seats and (as at Salisbury other
small portions OF stalls dating from the
middle of the thirteenth century, the oak
in each of which is as sound now as 1t was
In the days when the respective monarchs
of the forest bowed their st urdy head to
the woodman's AK, the palm as toward Sc
niority is claimed. and Justly, by Exeter
Cathedral. Therein, in the choir NAV be
seen fifty miserere seats, every one differ
ent, cleVerly carved and enriched by figure
and by foliage, the oak in each and every
one OF them perfectly hard and solid, and
altogether innocent from the least indica =
ton of rot or decay, carved under the d.
rection Of Bishop Bruere. tenth bishop of
Exeter, who ruled over this diocese from
1924 to 1914.
Taken as a whole, they are not only the
most perfect examples of early thirteen
century work In this country but also i'm
any cathedral or church in the world
Bruere Tor William Briwere. as he is some
times called in ancient manuscripts was
for nearly five years away in the Holy
Land. This accounts, no doubt for the al
together eastern character of some of the
ngure carvings upon these superb miser-
eres. One Of them represents an elephant.
and Is OF exceptional interest. in that 1t is
the earliest carved representation of that
quadruped In existence in England.
1t is curious, too. in that its carver, ap-
parently never having seen such an animal
has represented 1t with the hind legs Of a
dog. although, as We all know now an ell
ephants hind legs possess hooks precisely
its ability to kneel down like a Christian.
But, after all, We are but a new people;
and what with US appears to be ancient
history Is very modern indeed when we
RI Nnry nY,oy
countries. Egypt, for instance. The most
ancient carved wood fgure-ft is of syca-
more-known to exist may be seen In the
Museum OF Zizer. at Cairo. 1t dates from
B. G. 1900. so Is very nearly 600 years old
and still the wood Is sound and good This
precious old statuette was found at SAX
karah, and is supposed to represent one Of
the overseers OF the workmen engaged in
building the pyramids which abound in
that immediate neighborhood, and. by COM
paratiyely recent discoveries, have been
proved to be the Oldest Of all the pyramids
of Egypt.
The statue is known as the "Sheikh-el-
Beled." or 'Shiekh OF the Village" name
given 1t by the Arabs who found it. be-
cause Its features represented very closely
those OF the man who was then their own
sheikh. In this we get wonderful in
stance OF how human nature, through the
roll Of thousands of years, keeps on re-
peating itself The statue is distinctly a
portrait. showing a jolly. well-fed, closely
shaven man Of nifty summers or thereabout.
altogether nude. save for a cloth bound by
leather gtrdle about his iusty loins. and
reaching down to his knees. He stands
erect, and in the right hand grasps a star
but do not think the latter Is part Of the
original. The exact height Of the statuette
Ia three feet eight and one-half inches A
careful case In plaster of paris of this won
derfui old carving was made early In 1894
and may now be seen in one of the EKyp
tian galleries Of the British Museum. This.
then. IL the Oldest known existing example
of the wood carvers craft