Linden
Botanical name: Tilia spp.
Lime wood is a fine-pored native wood, which was especially popular with carvers of all eras.
Antique furniture made of lime wood
The wood of the linden tree is rarely found in antique furniture. There are, of course, also entire cabinets made of lime wood, but in furniture making we tend to find the wood in carved elements and applications.
Parts of marquetry and inlays were also made from the plain wood of the linden tree.
Linden - a wood for carving and turning
The wood of the linden tree is relatively soft and easy to work with carving tools. Whether in Gothic, Renaissance or Baroque times, carvings of all kinds and throughout Central and Southern Europe were often made in lime wood. The light-coloured wood with its weak grain was usually given a coloured finish afterwards.
Even today, lime wood is used for carving and turning, as well as traditionally for making hat moulds and kitchen utensils.
The lime wood used in the period of origin of our antiques came from the temperate climate zones of Europe.
