Man has sculpted images for thousands of years.
Man has shaped stone since the earliest days of civilization. Cro-Magnon hunters sculpted figurines of their mother goddess and the animals they hunted. Sculptors using primitive tools created giant images of kings and mythical creatures in Egypt, Rome and Angkor Wat.
From the beginning of history until the dawn of the modern era, sculptors shaped wood, bone and stone with simple stone and metal tools. Many of these works exist still, instilling a sense of wonder in the minds of everyone who sees them.
Early Tools
Carvings on rock walls may have been the first sculpture.
Stone Age man had an advanced kit of tools. The tool maker would carefully knap flint or chert to make axes, knives and carving tools. During this time some of the earliest sculpture was created using stone and mammoth ivory. Excavations in Europe have turned up carvings of animals, people, and mythical fertility figures.
Ivory figures would have been carved using sharp stone flakes and some figures were carved into the walls of caves. According to The Alamo Colleges, these carvings date to 15 to 26 thousand years BCE. (See Reference 1)
Copper Chisels
Ancient Egyptian craftsmen used stone hammers and copper chisels.
The ancient Egyptians created impressive sculptures in honor of Pharaoh and their gods. Using stone hammers and copper chisels, the craftsmen created giant statues that still can be seen in the Valley of the Kings and outside the ruins of temples.
According to the Reshafim Kibbutz website, Composition and development of ancient Egyptian tools, the copper chisels would become dull quickly and had to be sharpened often. (See Reference 2)
Renaissance Tools
Renaissance artists sculpted master works in wood and stone.
In the Renaissance period, sculpture became high art. Artisans used axes, adzes and chisels made of iron to shape wood into statuary for the church or the homes of the wealthy and powerful. Great artists like Michelangelo created masterpieces in marble with hammers and iron chisels.
According to Stanford University Renaissance, stone carvers also used iron drills spun by a small bow to carve recesses in the marble. Because of the bow, they were known as violinos. (See Reference 3)
Before carving the statue in marble artists often made models in wax or clay to perfect the image they wanted to bring out of the stone. Then they would use mallets and large chisels to rough out the shape and use smaller chisels as the work progressed. After the marble was carved, it would be polished with emery until it reached a high luster.
