Sentence:  The half-dozen pieces […] were painted white and <WSD>carved</WSD> with festoons of flowers, birds and cupids. To display them the walls had been tinted a vivid blue which had now faded, but the carpet, which had evidently been stored and recently relaid, retained its original turquoise. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  To shape to sculptural effect; to produce (a work) by cutting, or to cut (a material) into a finished work.