Precious Wentletrap with Ants
The Precious Wentletrap was so rare in the 1600s that they changed hands for enormous sums. Due to their fragility few were found, so fakes started to appear from China, made from rice flour paste and probably carefully built up rather than moulded. By the 19th century larger quantities had been found so their value plummeted. Ironically, the fragility of the fakes mean that very few survive, and consequently these are now priceless.I was kindly given one by a friend and was fascinated by the open spiral of the tube with its prominent ribs. Almost as an exercise I determined to carve a copy. The spaces between and within the open spiral proved to be very difficult indeed to carve, perhaps the most difficult task technically that I have ever faced, since a large part of the work had to be carved against the grain.
I became aware that no matter how well I performed my task the result would just be... a shell like a wentletrap. I therefore decided to carve a pair of foraging ants inside it. Since they would be protected to a certain extent, I completely undercut the ants so that only the tips of their legs were in contact with the shell, as in real life. This was the first time I attempted this; now, whenever the opportunity presents itself I continue to carve ants, beetles and the like in the same way.An interesting fact is that they have to be carved from the back towards the front, since the risk of damaging the front parts while carving the back parts would be great. Accidents which happen this way lead to a momentary yet a strong desire to shoot oneself.