Although most people think of icons as painted, there is also a very strong tradition of icons in relief carving. The oldest known icons are carved sarcophagi (e.g. that in St. Maria Antiqua, Rome, dating from around 270). The carved wooden doors of St. Sabina’s in Rome were made in 432. The wood I carve from depends in part on the size and use. Boxwood is good for very small items. Other woods I use for larger works are cherry (a rich brownish red), lime (light coloured and little distinctive grain) and oak. I have also used bone and ivory (old and recycled!). Some people like the carving to be painted and gilded. Common uses for carved icons are pendants, grave crosses and tombstones, reliquaries, travelling diptychs or triptychs, icon screens, the cross as support for the seven lamps often found on the altar, and portable icons hung up and venerated exactly as portable painted icons.