How were linenfold panels used?

Carpenters fitted these vertical timber boards into interior wall panelling and coffer fronts to decorate plain rooms. The design added texture and rigidity to domestic spaces without requiring figurative carving. Over time, these panels found new life in various wall arrangements as interior fashions shifted across the centuries.

What is polychrome paint on wood?

Makers applied mineral pigments mixed with a binder over a prepared gesso layer on wooden religious sculptures. This finish brought lifelike colour to the garments and flesh tones of saints and biblical figures. Most surviving examples show fragmented traces of this paint after centuries of cleaning and environmental exposure.

How do I distinguish regional styles?

English carvers typically worked in dense oak, favouring structural utility and flat geometric patterns like linenfold. Continental workshops in Flanders and France utilised walnut and limewood for more expressive figural sculptures influenced by the Renaissance. Examining the tool marks and timber choice reveals the geographic origin of each piece.