limewood

limewood. Wood of the lime tree, which together with oak and walnut has been the material most commonly used in Europe for large wooden sculpture. The tree is often called by its alternative name of linden, which helpfully distinguishes it from the tropical citrus tree also called lime. There are several species of linden, but they have similar qualities. The wood is pale in colour and very uniform in character. It is lighter and easier to carve than walnut or especially oak, but it is less durable and more vulnerable to damp. Although it has been used in various times and places, it is particularly associated with the great tradition of woodcarving in southern Germany in the late 15th and early 16th centuries; it was the standard material for the spectacular altarpieces that were one of the most characteristic art forms of the region in this period. Often the wood was polychromed and gilded. The ease with which it could be carved encouraged virtuoso naturalistic effects that were impossible in other woods—hence Vasari's amazement (the material being relatively unfamiliar in Italy) at Veit Stoss's statue of St Roch (c.1510–20, SS. Annunziata, Florence). Another celebrated virtuoso in the medium was Grinling Gibbons, one of whose most famous creations is a lace cravat carved in limewood (V&A, London); it was once owned by Horace Walpole, who wore it at a reception.