The Lost Carving

On a chance visit to St James's Church, Piccadilly, David Esterly found himself awestruck by the delicate beauty and ambition of master carver Grinling Gibbons' limewood decorations. This encounter was to change the course of his life as Esterly devoted himself to mastering the lost techniques that had revolutionised ornamental sculpture in the late 1600s.By 1986, when a fire at Hampton Court Palace destroyed much of Gibbons' masterpiece, Esterly was the only candidate to restore his idol's work to its former glory. As he explores Gibbons' achievements, he also looks back on a testing year that forced him to question his abilities and delve deeply into the subtle skills of making. Highly acclaimed and moving, The Lost Carving reveals the inspirational secrets of wood and craft.