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Stone sculpture is the result of forming 3-dimensional visually interesting objects from stone. It is an ancient activity where pieces of rough natural stone are shaped by the controlled removal of stone. Owing to the permanence of the material, evidence can be found that even the earliest societies indulged in some form of stone work, though not all areas of the world have such abundance of good stone for carving as Egypt, Greece, India and most of Europe. Petroglyphs (also called rock engravings) are perhaps the earliest form: images created by removing part of a rock surface which remains ''in situ'', by incising, pecking, carving, and abrading. Monumental sculpture covers large works, and architectural sculpture, which is attached to buildings. Hardstone carving is the carving for artistic purposes of semi-precious stones such as jade, agate, onyx, rock crystal, sard or carnelian, and a general term for an object made in this way. Alabaster or mineral gypsum is a soft mineral that is easy to carve for smaller works and still relatively durable. Engraved gems are small carved gems, including cameos, originally used as seal rings. Carving stone into sculpture is an activity older than civilization itself, beginning perhaps with incised images on cave walls.〔 Page 9.〕 Prehistoric sculptures were usually human forms, such as the Venus of Willendorf and the faceless statues of the Cycladic cultures of ancient Greece. Later cultures devised animal, human-animal and abstract forms in stone. The earliest cultures used abrasive techniques, and modern technology employs pneumatic hammers and other devices. But for most of human history, sculptors used hammer and chisel as the basic tools for carving stone. ==The process of stone sculpture== In the direct method of stone carving, the work usually begins with the selection of a stone for carving, the qualities of which will influence the artist's choices in the design process. The artist using the direct method may use sketches but eschews the use of a physical model. The fully dimensional form or figure is created for the first time in the stone itself, as the artist removes material, sketches on the block of stone, and develops the work along the way.〔Liebson, pages 63-64.〕 On the other hand, is the indirect method, when the sculptor begins with a clearly defined model to be copied in stone. The models, usually made of plaster or modeling clay, may be fully the size of the intended sculpture and fully detailed. Once the model is complete, a suitable stone must be found to fit the intended design.〔Liebson, pages 63-64.〕 The model is then copied in stone by measuring with calipers or a pointing machine. This method is frequently used when the carving is done by other sculptors, such as artisans or employees of the sculptor. Some artists use the stone itself as inspiration; the Renaissance artist Michelangelo claimed that his job was to free the human form hidden inside the block.〔Liebson, page 9.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「stone sculpture」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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