Design and Tradition / A short account of the principles and historic development of architecture and the applied arts

by Amor Fenn

Grinling Gibbons School of Carving

In England the work of the school of Grinling Gibbons was productive of a phase of ornamental expression distinctive for its artistry and technical skill. Conventional details were combined with natural forms of all kinds, the conspicuous arrangement being interlacing scrolls, and festoons and pendant swags.

In the artificial leaf, with its boldly grooved surface and accentuated lobes, the evidence of the tool is manifest throughout.

The tradition established by the Grinling Gibbons school had a lasting effect upon the native carving, which endured throughout the Georgian period, though largely influenced in detail by French taste—Rococo in particular.