1 Design

This Heraldic Lion is the last part of a commission for Hay Castle, Powys, UK. The first part consisted of an unadorned open 'book'; the second part was an ornamental letter on the opposite 'page' to the lion, which I cover up so as not to distract.

We filmed it all 3 parts:

1. The book itself. Here's a link to the Open Book.

2. The Ornamental Letter H, with a daffodil and bird. Here's the link.

3. This armorial device consisting of a shield and what in heraldry is called a 'lion passant' .

In this introductory video I get a chance to improve on the original sketch that I'd been given. This is not an 'official' coat of arms and so I got a lot of room for artistic licence. The lion itself, for example, had to be converted from a loose drawing to something more carveable, and given a more impressive place in the scheme of things. You can see me think this through.

Also, in this carving we have a mix of low relief and intaglio ('sunken relief') carving. I'm not sure I've ever seen this combo before, but it works!

Although I am carving this lion specifically on the curved surface of a book, it would look great flat, on a cupboard door or bedhead, say. Or just standing alone, guarding the house!

Related Videos:

• Intaglio

Dimensions:

The width of the rectangular recess just above the lion is 6in. (150mm). Apologies - this measurment does not appear in the working drawing and tool list download below.