What materials are antique carvings made from?

Wood dominates, with oak the most common named timber, then hardwood, walnut and the soft pale limewood used for Alpine figure carving. Stone is the other half of the category: marble and alabaster lead, with soapstone, serpentine, jade and limestone behind them. Small Japanese work here is boxwood, bone, antler or wood rather than ivory.

How old are most of these carvings?

Dealer-entered dates run from 1700 to 1950 on the listings that carry a clean year, and the largest single bucket is the 19th century. The decade buckets show a real late-Victorian to inter-war body of work, with the 1920s, 1930s, 1890s, 1910s and 1880s all well represented. Earlier pieces are a minority, though 18th-, 17th- and 16th-century carvings appear, and a handful of listings reach back further still.

Are antique carvings mostly English?

No. Nationality words in titles are led by Chinese and then Italian, so the two largest identifiable origins in this archive are Chinese work and Florentine alabaster. English carving is named only occasionally. Much of the European religious and architectural material is Continental and catalogued without a nationality at all.

Which subjects come up again and again?

Figures and busts first, then animals. Lions appear in 31 titles, bears in 27 and dogs in 21. Bears are almost a category in themselves, running from Japanese kibori kuma from Hokkaido to Black Forest examples made as double stick stands, and one lot is a set of fifteen miniature bears.

How large do antique carvings get?

Scale swings widely. The same archive carries netsuke a few centimetres across and life-size figures, some standing on their own columns. At the top end there are pieces measured at 93cm and 169cm, a marble bust on its pedestal, a 99cm pair of Kashmiri lacquered elephants and a Tibetan temple lion weighing 25kg.

Do carvings usually carry a maker's name?

Rarely. Only 44 titles say signed, and the anonymous oak and limewood religious figures are catalogued without a workshop or school attached. Just one name clears three dealers across the whole archive: Pugi, on Florentine alabaster and marble figures of women. About 109 carvings are listed on Sellingantiques in a year, and 195 different dealers have handled one, so no single specialist defines the field.

Home > Sculptures > Carvings > Page 19

Antique Carvings

488 items · page 19 of 31

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Hand-carved sculpture in wood and stone, sold as free-standing figures, busts, animal studies, panels and architectural fragments, made for churches, houses, souvenir trades and scholars' desks.

A Pair of Black Forest Carved Figures in the Form of Ibex and Chamois

19th century

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A Pair of Black Forest Carved Figures in the Form of Ibex and Chamois

From Robert Belcher Antiques

£1,695

FOR SALE

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19th century

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Pair of Late 19th Century Marble Busts Featuring Orientalist Figures

From H & H Gallery

£1,500

FOR SALE

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Superb Quality Large Antique Carved Hardwood Chinese Figure

1900 - 1920

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Superb Quality Large Antique Carved Hardwood Chinese Figure

From Unique Antiques by Emma Jade

£1,085

FOR SALE

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Ming Dynasty Attendant Figure (1368-1644)

17th century

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Ming Dynasty Attendant Figure (1368-1644)

From Roy Precious - Antiques & Fine Art

£685

FOR SALE

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19th century

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19th Century Carved Tiger Oak Heraldic Lion Shield Crest

From Cheshire Antiques Consultant Ltd

£3,900

FOR SALE

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Pre 16th century

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Chinese,tang Dynasty Stone Carving

From Christine Kavanagh Antiques

£850

FOR SALE

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Antique 19th C Roman Emperor Augustus Avgvstvs Caesar Marble Bust

19th century

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Antique 19th C Roman Emperor Augustus Avgvstvs Caesar Marble Bust

From Bushells Antiques

£2,200

FOR SALE

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16th century

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Late Medieval Sculpture of St Catherine

From Martin Murray Antiques

£4,850

FOR SALE

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Superb Pair 17th French Century Limewood Putti

17th century

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Superb Pair 17th French Century Limewood Putti

From Timberhill Gallery

£8,850

FOR SALE

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An Ecclesiastical Italian Carved Olive Wood Figure Group of Mary, Joseph and Jesus

19th century

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An Ecclesiastical Italian Carved Olive Wood Figure Group of Mary, Joseph and Jesus

From Robert Belcher Antiques

£495

FOR SALE

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The most expensive carving ever sold on Sellingantiques was a huge 18th century Italian marble bust of the Roman emperor Septimius Severus, in October 2024.

19th century

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19th Century Carved Marble Portrait of a Woman

From Treaders Collectables

£1,000

FOR SALE

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A Large Marble and Alabaster Figure by Cipriani

19th century

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A Large Marble and Alabaster Figure by Cipriani

From Youlls Antiques

£1,650

FOR SALE

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Quality Antique Chinese Carved Hardwood Group

1900 - 1920

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Quality Antique Chinese Carved Hardwood Group

From Unique Antiques by Emma Jade

£495

FOR SALE

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Ukraine Interest, Amusing Sculpture of a Night Watchman.

1920 - 1940

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Ukraine Interest, Amusing Sculpture of a Night Watchman.

From Koos Limburg Jnr. Scotland

£1,250

FOR SALE

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A Pair of Historically Interesting Marble Reliefs Made and Signed by the Sculptor Kasper Hendrik Roskam (1818-1894)

19th century

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A Pair of Historically Interesting Marble Reliefs Made and Signed by the Sculptor Kasper Hendrik Roskam (1818-1894)

From Koos Limburg Jnr. Scotland

£775

FOR SALE

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Pair of Gothic Carved Oak Saints, St John and Virgin , Germany, Circa 1500

Pre 16th century

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Pair of Gothic Carved Oak Saints, St John and Virgin , Germany, Circa 1500

From Treaders Collectables

£10,000

FOR SALE

sculptures

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Antique Carvings

A Pair of Black Forest Carved Figures in the Form of Ibex and Chamois

Pair of Late 19th Century Marble Busts Featuring Orientalist Figures

Superb Quality Large Antique Carved Hardwood Chinese Figure

Ming Dynasty Attendant Figure (1368-1644)

19th Century Carved Tiger Oak Heraldic Lion Shield Crest

Chinese,tang Dynasty Stone Carving

Antique 19th C Roman Emperor Augustus Avgvstvs Caesar Marble Bust

Late Medieval Sculpture of St Catherine

Superb Pair 17th French Century Limewood Putti

An Ecclesiastical Italian Carved Olive Wood Figure Group of Mary, Joseph and Jesus

19th Century Carved Marble Portrait of a Woman

A Large Marble and Alabaster Figure by Cipriani

Quality Antique Chinese Carved Hardwood Group

Ukraine Interest, Amusing Sculpture of a Night Watchman.

A Pair of Historically Interesting Marble Reliefs Made and Signed by the Sculptor Kasper Hendrik Roskam (1818-1894)

Pair of Gothic Carved Oak Saints, St John and Virgin , Germany, Circa 1500

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