French market vocabulary· French
Bois monoxyle
In English use: Monoxylous / Single-block structure
Single-block construction — a sculpture carved from one unbroken piece of wood, never assembled.
A sculpture carved from a single, undivided piece of wood (usually a whole tree-trunk or a strong branch). A fundamental conceptual difference from the western tradition of assemblage, in which extending arms, wings, or legs are often carved separately and then pegged or doweled to the body.
The African bois monoxyle technique forces the carver to work within the limits of the cylinder. The form of African sculpture — its often compact, cylindrical, self-contained posture — is directly dictated by the geometry of the felled tree-trunk.