German Masterclass

Quoted text begins.It looks like perhaps a pointing frame set up, perhaps
caliper method.
End of quote.

Bill,

Yes, you are right, now I look closely at the Stefan Puntigam's 'Venus' 2004
and Marek Schneider's 'Torso' 2003, there appears to be pointing marks left
on the pieces. The Venus has front bottom pegs as well as the crown peg, and the
Torso photo is cut off at the bottom, but may well have bottom pegs too.
The Torso appears to have pointing marks all over the surface at regular
intervals.

Why leave them in? From what I can decipher, the Masterpiece is a body of
work produced by a qualified Stonemason, together with industry
experience and advanced technical knowledge (quarrying, stone
processing, business management, knowledge of standards etc.).

There is a set time limit to produce the work (80 hours?), so they must just
finish what they can in that period. It would be interesting to know the
exact criteria for the Master Stonemason (Steinmetzmeister). Interseting to note
that some of the master Stonemasons are female.

Regarding the pointing tool method of indirect carving, there is a good
section in Gabrielle Rovai's 'Il Mestiere del Marmista'. He describes the
pointing marks as 'Capopunti' or main reference points:
http://www.pietrasantart.com/Rovai/BookIT.htm

Also in Cami & Santamera's book 'Sculpture in Stone':
<[URL now obsolete]
detail/-/0764154249/104-0368306-9068775?v=glance >

Simon