Sculpture

acrolith Sculpture

General

An acrolith is a draped statue (often a Greek one) that features arms, legs and a head made out of marble and upheld by a trunk of material such as wood.  

agaima Sculpture

General

Agaima was a Greek word used to refer to any sculpture work.  Eventually the term was used to refer to a god statue and less frequently a painted portrait.  

agaimatolite Sculpture

General

Agaimatolite (also referred to as pagodite) is a yellow/green/gray stone employed by the Chinese for carving images and pagodas.  

Alabama Cream Sculpture

General

Alabama Cream is a kind of American marble excellent for sculpture.  Cream Blanc and Madre Cream are other fine-grained, hard, milky kinds available.  

alabaster Sculpture

General

A slightly translucent stone with a smooth, white surface.  The stone is soft enough to be sawed with a handsaw and is easily carved.  It is best used inside because of its susceptibility to scratches.  The alabaster mentioned by people in the distant past is actually a different and more sturdier stone variety called onyx marble.  

alabastron Sculpture

General

Alabastron is a type of ancient Greek pottery.  It features a little oil flask with a curved bottom in the form of a tear drop.  Greek athletes used it many years ago to hold and carry the oil they wanted to smear on their bodies.

Albany slip Sculpture

General

Albany slip is a slip clay that is produced not far from Albany, New York. The clay was used to create stoneware by early American potters; it gave their pieces a blackish-brown gaze.  

alto rilievo Sculpture

General

An Italian word for a sculptural relief; shapes stick out from the backdrop of the relief sometimes more than half of the depth's form.  

 

Amherst sandstone Sculpture

General

Amherst standstone is a light sandstone that is obtainable in various colors including gray and light, tan brown.  It originates from the state of Ohio in Lorrain County.  

amphora Sculpture

General

An amphora is a big, ancient Greek ceramic jar featuring two handles employed for storing things such as grain and wine.  There were different kinds of amphoras made, one of which was placed in a rack instead of remaining upright on its own, and another in which featured a kneck that was offset.  Some contained artwork on them. Many numbers of amphoras were used for transportation purposes of goods.  

androsphinx, sphinx Sculpture

General

A sphinx is a carved picture of a lion laying down that contains an animal or human head positioned in a fixed gaze.  It was a favored theme in art from Egypt.  The term "androsphinx" refers to the sphinx that features a human-head; it was the most numerous of the sphinx made in ancient Egyptian art.  

Armature Sculpture

General
A structure created from metal wire, wood, bars or other kinds of supporting materials that can hold up wet plaster or clay, or other types of manipulative mixed media materials in order to assist an artist in the building of his/her sculpture.  

 

Base (sculpture) Sculpture

Equipment

A base (also called plinth) is the item that a sculpture is mounted, attached or fixed upon; it should not be confused with a pedestal, because a base is positioned between a pedestal and the sculpture. 


Callipers Sculpture

Equipment

A tool used by sculptors to measure in the round as they work.  The tool contains two jaws that adjust and can be purchased in a variety of sizes in plastic, metal or wood.   

carving Sculpture

General
A sculpture created from the act of carving into a piece of material.  A carved piece of work is often called a "carving," but the term "sculpture" is usually given to a carving that has a sense of aesthetic and artistic worth.

 

caryatid Sculpture

General
A female figure that acts as a supporting column for an entablature in architectural sculpture.  Often times the figure is featured with long robes and poses in a graceful position.  

 

Multimedia sculpture Sculpture

General
A combination of art media used to create a three-dimensional piece of artwork.  Media may include things such as audio, video, graphics and text.

 

Patina Sculpture

General

The natural effects of time and air exposure on a surface.  Specifically, it may refer to the greenish brown effect that takes place on bronze pieces from exposure and aging.  This term may also apply to the build up of characteristics that occur on leather products over time. 

Patination Sculpture

General
Patination is the enhancement of bronze by applying color to it through a chemical process.  The majority of patinas are created from the three water soluble compounds of cupric nitrate (creates greens and blues), ferric nitrate (creates browns and reds) and sulphurated potash (creates black).  A knowledgeable patineur is able to create a number of colors, both opaque and transparent.  When the bronze is finished, a patineur will place a coat of clear wax over the bronze to improve and keep intact the patina.  

 

Relief sculpture Sculpture

General

Sculptured artwork that projects or sinks in relation to a plane - it may be a carved or modeled form.  Material is taken away from the plane that is not necessary for the composition of the image.  A common use of relief sculpture is to place a number of relief panels together to portray scenes of an event.   

Wetting down Sculpture

General

Process of flowing water onto a stone prior to carving and polishing in order to assess patterns, vein location, and graining.