The panel hung vertically on a pale wall, the whole crocodile visible

Swimming Crocodile Wall Art, Carved Solid Wood

Large: 900 × 250 × 42 mm / Ash / Natural, oiled
£223.00
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The panel hung vertically on a pale wall, the whole crocodile visible
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  • The panel hung vertically on a pale wall, the whole crocodile visible
  • Close view of the crocodile's head carved in relief, with the wake spreading out around it
  • The panel laid flat with a person beside it, showing the length of the carving
  • A person holding the panel horizontally, showing its size against an adult
  • Size chart for the three panels: small 500 x 140 x 24 mm, medium 700 x 195 x 34 mm, large 900 x 250 x 42 mm
  • The panel hung vertically with the head at the top, seen straight on
  • Close view of the carved scales along the back and the ridges of the wake
  • The panel hung horizontally with the head to the left
  • The horizontal panel seen at an angle, showing how far the carving stands out from the board
  • The horizontal panel from one side, the wake ridges catching the light
  • The horizontal panel seen from the other side, showing the carved tail
  • The panel on a wall with the head to the right, seen from below
  • Close view along the panel, the carving running away towards the tail
  • The panel seen almost edge on, showing the thickness of the board
  • Close view of the head and front legs, cut in high relief
  • The vertical panel on a pale wall, head at the top
  • The vertical panel at an angle, the wake fading towards the edges of the board
  • Detail of the crocodile's back and legs, seen from directly above
  • Close view of the head, showing the eye and the carved jaw
  • The panel hung horizontally on a pale wall, the whole carving in view
Swimming Crocodile Wall Art, Carved Solid Wood

Swimming Crocodile Wall Art, Carved Solid Wood

£223.00
This decides where the fittings go into the back of the panel, so it cannot be changed afterwards. Measure your wall before you choose.
Please choose how the panel will hang.

A crocodile seen from directly above, mid-swim, carved in relief into a single panel of solid wood. The water is part of the carving: the wake spreads out from the body in curved ridges that run to the edges of the panel, so the animal is not sitting on a flat background but displacing something.

Three lengths, from 500 mm to 900 mm. The largest is a piece for a long empty wall — a stairwell, a hallway, above a sideboard. The smallest works where a picture would go.

Two woods. Ash is pale and open-pored, with a long straight grain that runs the length of the panel in the same direction as the carved wake — the two patterns lie over each other, and on this piece that is most of the effect. Cherry is warmer, reddish and close-grained; it gives up the pattern in exchange for a smoother, denser surface that holds the fine detail of the scales more cleanly, and it darkens over the years.

Three finishes, in order of how hard they work. Natural, oiled leaves the wood as it is and lets the grain run through the water and the animal alike — the quietest, and the one that depends most on the light in the room. Walnut stain darkens the whole panel; the relief is then read by shadow alone, which makes it stronger in raking light and flatter in dull light. Walnut with gold and silver patina goes furthest: over the dark stain, a metallic patina is laid on the raised surfaces and rubbed back, so the scales along the back and the crests of the wake carry light of their own. It reads at any hour and from across a room.

You choose how it hangs when you order — vertical or horizontal, head up, down, left or right — and we fit the hanging system accordingly before finishing. Made to order in our workshop in Romania, dispatched within 3–5 working days.
Product details

A relief panel in solid wood: a crocodile swimming, seen from above, with the wake carved into the same surface. Three lengths, two woods, three finishes.

Ash is the pale, strongly figured option — its grain runs with the wake and doubles the pattern. Cherry is warmer, closer-grained and quieter, and it holds the fine detail of the scales more cleanly. Ash costs slightly more because it behaves differently under the tool.

Natural oiled keeps the wood as it is. Walnut stain darkens the whole panel and leaves the relief to shadow. Walnut with gold and silver patina adds a metallic finish over the raised surfaces of the stained panel, rubbed back by hand, so the scales and the crests of the wake stand out on their own.

The orientation is chosen at checkout, and it is not a preference we note down — it decides where the hanging fittings go into the back of the panel. Vertical with the head up, vertical with the head down, horizontal with the head to the left, horizontal with the head to the right, or no fittings at all if the panel is going to stand or lean.

Once the fittings are in, the orientation cannot be changed — so decide where the panel is going before you order. Sold individually. Made to order, dispatched within 3–5 working days.
Dimensions and specifications
  • Wood: solid ash or solid cherry, one panel, no glued joints
  • Large: 900 × 250 × 42 mm (35.4″ × 9.8″ × 1.7″) — about 4 kg
  • Medium: 700 × 195 × 34 mm (27.6″ × 7.7″ × 1.3″) — about 3 kg
  • Small: 500 × 140 × 24 mm (19.7″ × 5.5″ × 0.9″) — about 2 kg
  • Tolerance: ±1 mm
  • Finishes: Natural oiled; Walnut stain; Walnut with gold and silver patina
  • Orientation: chosen at checkout — it determines where the fittings are set into the back
  • Hanging: two keyhole plates recessed into the back, included — or none, if you choose that option
  • Sold individually
  • Made to order: 3–5 working days before dispatch
Mounting

Choose the orientation at checkout and we recess two keyhole plates into the back, positioned for the way the panel will hang. Choose the last option and the back is left flat and unmarked, for a panel that will lean against a wall or sit on a shelf.

  1. Turn the panel over and measure the distance between the two keyholes.
  2. Mark both points on the wall and check them with a spirit level. On a panel 900 mm long, one millimetre of error at the fixings is visible along the whole edge.
  3. Drill and plug for your wall type, and leave both screw heads standing about 4 mm proud.
  4. Hook the wide part of each keyhole over its screw, then let the panel settle down onto the narrow part. It should sit flush against the wall; if it rocks, one screw is out further than the other.

Hang the panel where light reaches it from one side. The wake is cut in shallow ridges and it is the first thing to disappear under flat light, which takes the movement out of the piece. That matters most on the oiled and stained versions; the patinated one is the most forgiving, because the metallic highlights carry light of their own.

Do not use adhesive strips. Keep the panel away from a radiator or a wall that gets direct afternoon sun — a piece of solid wood this wide moves with humidity, and steady conditions are what keep it flat.
Materials & workshop

Ash or cherry, one panel either way. In ash the grain does something no other wood would here: it runs the length of the panel, in the same direction as the carved wake, so the two patterns lie over each other. The water in the carving and the water-like figure in the wood are not the same thing, and seeing both at once is most of what makes the ash version work. Ash costs slightly more because it behaves differently under the tool.

Cherry does the opposite. It is close-grained and even, so the wood stays quiet and the carving carries the whole piece — the scales along the back and tail come out crisper than they can in an open-pored wood. It is reddish when new and deepens over years rather than months.

Made in our workshop in Roman, Romania. The animal is cut in high relief and the wake in shallow ridges that fade towards the edges — two different depths of work on one surface, and the transition between them is where the piece is either convincing or not. Sanding and finishing are done by hand; on a surface with this many ridges that is the slow part, and it is why the panels are made one at a time.

On the patinated version, the metallic layer goes on after the stain and is rubbed back by hand until only the raised surfaces hold it. It is sealed once it is where we want it, so it will not lift or wear off in normal use — but it is applied by hand, which means two panels of the same size are close, not identical.
Care

Dust with a dry, soft brush, following the direction of the ridges rather than across them. The scales along the back and tail have undercuts that catch a cloth and pull fibres from it. Never use water or a household cleaner.

The patina is sealed and will not come off with normal dusting. It is still a surface finish, so keep abrasives and solvents away from it.

Both woods change under strong light — ash lightens, cherry darkens — and on a surface with this much relief the change is uneven. Keep the panel out of direct sun and it will stay as it left the workshop.

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