Relief
sculpture created with relief technique
Relief is a type of sculpture or carving. The worker creating the piece starts with a flat base, usually stone or wood, and takes small parts of the surface away until the desired image has been made.
![](http://178.128.105.246/host-http-upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bd/Centaur_from_Parthenon.jpg/220px-Centaur_from_Parthenon.jpg)
Reliefs are found around the world. They can be used to decorate buildings, such as temples. Usually the artist makes reliefs of figures, such as people or animals.
![](http://178.128.105.246/host-http-upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/12/Votive_relief_of_a_reclined_Hetaera.jpg/220px-Votive_relief_of_a_reclined_Hetaera.jpg)
In bas-relief, only a bit of the base is taken away. The figure is quite flat and this is especially common in friezes. An alto-relief is where the artist takes away a lot of the base material. This can be very detailed.
Famous reliefs
changeFamous reliefs include:
- Great Altar of Pergamon, now at the Pergamon Museum, Berlin
- Lions and dragons from the Ishtar Gate, Babylon
- Temple of Karnak in Egypt
- Angkor Wat in Cambodia
- Lion Capital of Ashoka, the national symbol of India
- glyphs and artwork of the Maya civilization
- The monument to the Confederacy at Stone Mountain, Georgia
- Borobudur temple, Java, Indonesia
- The Elgin Marbles from the Parthenon now housed at the British Museum.
- The representation of Monticello on a US nickel.
Gallery
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Greek couple in high relief
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Palmyra Figure in British Museum
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Angels from Clonfert Cathedral, Co Galway, Ireland (adjusted to highlight relief)
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