Mick Oakey
Ancient Egyptian Lady
“Carved in fine-grained Portland limestone, this elegant Ancient Egyptian lady is by far my most ambitious piece to date. I created the 16in x 11in piece over a period of two years (for a fortunately very patient customer!), but I spent about a year of that time plucking up courage to tackle the very elaborate wig, with its subtle braided tresses. The carving is based on a detail of a scene in the tomb of the vizier Ramose, near the Valley of the Kings in Egypt, which is widely considered to contain some of the finest carved reliefs surviving from the Ancient Egyptian civilisation. I love the combination of complexity (the details) and simplicity (the lack of applied colour except for the eye), and the ageless serenity of the woman's face.”
Media: Portland Limestone
Size (in): 16 x 11
Acer
“This is my second version of this composition, carved in limestone to follow on from an earlier commission in sandstone. Measuring 20in x 15in, it is inspired by the foliage of an acer pseudoplatanus brilliantissimum tree in my own garden, and is carved in sunk relief so that, when displayed outdoors, the sun creates sharp and shimmering highlights and shadows on the leaves' serrated edges. Sunk relief is the best technique for outdoor impact — as I learnt under the fierce sun of Egypt, whose ancient art provides the inspiration for most of my work.”
Media: Sandstone
Size (in): 15 x 20
Thutmose IV
“Inspired by a wall relief at Egypt's biggest temple complex, Karnak, this York sandstone sunk-relief head of a pharaoh (most likely Thutmose IV, from about 1400 BC) shows the king wearing a supremely elegant khepresh battle crown or helmet, surmounted by a coiled protective cobra. The curves and balance of the composition appeal to the art nouveau enthusiast in me, and the ribbon streamer fluttering behind the nape of the neck adds movement. This 23in x 18in slab, which weighs 4 stone, was my first large stonecarving and I have not yet been able to bring myself to part with it!”
Media: York Sandstone
Size (in): 23 x 18
Majestic Lion
“Based on a 3,500-year-old unfinished Ancient Egyptian sculptor's trial piece preserved in University College London's Petrie Museum, this 9in x 6in carving was an opportunity to visualise in 3D what this majestic lion's head would have looked like had it been completed in ancient times. A symbol of kingship, it is full of power and authority — and the promise of ferocity if provoked.”
Media: Sandstone
Size (in): 6 x 9
Queen Tiye
“One of the strongest and most powerful royal women in Ancient Egypt, Queen Tiye (grandmother of Tutankhamun) was the epitome of feistiness. I hope this limestone carving (24in x 16in), based on an ancient original preserved in Brussels, captures the determined set of her petite but distinctive face, under her towering twin-feathered crown surrounded by protective cobras and embraced by a royal hawk. The little owl figure at lower left is my signature — it's the hieroglyph for "M"”
Media: Limestone
Size (in): 24 x 16