A Masterly Hand / Scientia Artis 9

­ indicating that the block was removed and replaced a number of times. This suggests that the woodcarver rotated the block, reclamping it in different positions in order to carve in the round. It might be expected that the top and the bottom of a sculpture would both show the same number of clamp marks. Yet only a small number of the Elsloo sculptures examined had clamp marks at the top, no doubt because the head was further worked on at a later stage of carving, the clamp marks being obliterated in the process. The marks left by tools on sculptures provide information about the succes- sive stages of the carving process. Initially there may well be some difficulty even in distinguishing traces of this kind, since which type of mark might be present and which marks belong together are all unknown quantities. A photograph is not sufficient to identify and compare such marks. Only ­ accurate and consistent measurement of the marks on the statues themselves can provide the necessary information. Even then, it remains difficult to draw definite conclusions. Attribution Can a sculpture be attributed to a particular carver or workshop on the basis of the traces left on it by the workbench? And are there enough similar traces on a sufficient number of sculptures from the large and diverse Elsloo group to permit the assumption that they were made by the same woodcarver or in the same workshop? The study of the sculptures by theMaastricht woodcarver Jan van ­Steffeswert rested on attribution based on st yle. 15 In addition to shared stylistic traits, the artist’s name was carved on some of them. In that case the comparative study of the clamp marks confirmed that the statues came from the same workshop. But in a case such as the Master of Elsloo, involving a very large and diverse group of sculptures produced by different and as yet unidentified makers, ­ attribution to a specific individual or workshop based solely on workbench marks becomes very difficult. Technical Examination of Four Key Works Four sculptures representing St Anne with the Virgin and Child, all related to the Master of Elsloo or his workshop, have been examined. All four are made of local oak. The St Anne with the Virgin and Child from Elsloo The statue is 129 centimetres high, 81.5 centimetres wide and 42 centimetres deep and weighs 80 kilos (fig. 11.3a). It is made from a piece of oak taken from the part of the trunk where bifurcation occurred (fig. 11.2). The wood is cracked and metal plates have been attached at the bottom to prevent further cracking. The back of the statue is only minimally worked, indicating that it was not intended to be seen (fig. 11.3b). Apparently the sculpture was made to stand on an altar. It has been hollowed out in a particular way: Mary and Anne are each carved from one part of a bifurcate trunk and each has been hollowed out individually, leaving a thickness of wood between them. The resulting cavities