Types of Wood Continued...
This rosary bead is made of boxwood, a tree found across Europe and often used for hedges. The wood is hard and has a creamy-yellow colour.
Oak is a good wood for making furniture as it does not rot easily or get attacked by woodworm. Oak was a very common tree in Britain, but oak trees have been chopped down at a faster rate than they could grow. Now it is less widespread it is expensive.
Limewood has been used to carve the sculpture of a female saint and the Relief of the Holy Family. The wood is soft and is creamy-brown in colour. Limewood attracts woodworm that leave small holes in the wood, which you can see in the head and hat of the saint. This is a good wood for making larger carvings as its softness makes it easy to cut.
This tea caddy is made of wood and is covered with a black resin made from the sticky deposit of an insect. This resin, called shellac, is imported from India. The shellac is put on the box in several layers and then polished to make it smooth and shiny. When the resin has dried it becomes smooth and waterproof, but it gets damaged by light.