the first
copy
project
Soon on
Help bring back one of the most intricate art forms in history!
And get a chance to own a piece of craft lost for 500 years.
Supporters of the project in the first 24 hours will get 15% discount.
Rare materials
Made out of boxwood, one of the hardest and rarest woods in the world.
Mysterious medieval maker
Carved by ONE man and his workshop with yet unrepeated skill.
Smallest in the world
Details so small, you can barely see them by the naked eye.
Around 130 left in the world.
Nobody knew how they were created until very recently.
"There's no one in today's world who is going to take the amount of time to do this work, it's impossible."
woodworker and professor Mark Paddison
From the Boxwood Project video series of Art Gallery of Ontario.
First copy ever made!
Support the creation of the first copy of Gothic boxwood miniature made in the world and a YouTube video series about it.
Supporters of the project in the first 24 hours will get 15% discount.
Original Rewards made by hand
Hold in hand your own part of the process to revive a long-lost and unsurpassed artform.
Hand-cast ceramic copies of gothic miniature marvels.
Signed and numbered limited edition pieces.
First piece of uncovered mystery imprinted in high quality fired clay.
Months of research and hand-carving in boxwood. Copied, moulded, cast and fired in a wood furnace, a rare technique that leaves a one-of-a-kind natural finish and luster.
Making every piece original.
New forms for the unrepeated craft of the past
Gothic boxwood miniatures made into fine ceramic hanging micro-planters.
Merging the perfection of medieval geometry with the natural patterns of flora.
How are the rewards made?
Hand casting from 28 parts complicated plaster ceramic molds.
Ceramic clay piece after assembly and air drying.
Ceramic piece after first 900°C furnace firing.
Finished ceramic piece after 1200°C second wood furnace firing.
Aesthetics don't know size; everything
can be compressed into a small package made of natural resources.
History of Big art with small proportions
´´So excited to see more.´´
´´There is art, and then there is art, this is the latter.´´
´´Unironically hyped for this.´´
About the artist
Hi, my name is Emil Softič, an academic sculptor and a woodcarver.
I´ve been studying between 2013-2019 at the Academy of Fine Arts in Bratislava, Slovakia, where I live and work. Through my career, I´ve always leaned towards work of smaller proportions and fine detail.
It was years ago when I first saw these incredible works on the internet. Like many, I was stunned by the amazing detail and the theatrical feeling you can get from such a tiny space. But it was the first time I saw one of them live in the Vienna Kunsthistorisches Museum. There, I realized how incredible they are. Out of countless others, I had the same question as most people who had the opportunity to view them in person: How? How could have somebody made these? I was immediately hooked. No one has allegedly ever made a serious attempt to carve one, nor has anyone come close to the quality of detail of the Gothic originals; actually, some professionals deem it impossible to accomplish in the present time.
At this point, I thought to myself, Well, maybe I can try.
Supporters of the project in the first 24 hours will get 15% discount.
Photos by Nicole Koleková and Miro Gasidlo
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