Bible Box c. 1940

Raymond McGough made this 'Bible Box' without a date, but with a lot of precision and care. The even-toned browns and creams, the lines carved with such focus, all tell you something about craft and the patience of art-making. Look at the surface; it's mostly smooth but punctuated with tiny, repetitive markings. The semicircular forms on the front have different infills, and you can almost feel the rhythm of the hand that made them. Notice the linear pattern below and the way it contrasts with the curves above, creating this real visual tension. The colour is consistent, but the texture gives it depth, it's like looking at a landscape, where you can see both the hills and the valleys at the same time. I can’t help but think about the work of someone like Agnes Martin when looking at this piece, in the ways that it reveals something complex through the simple and handmade. It reminds us that art isn't just about grand gestures, but about the quiet, everyday acts of creation.