Blank Oval Cartouche Medallion

A blank-centred cartouche waiting for a name or a mirror. The heart of this piece is a smooth, gently domed oval, left deliberately plain so you can letter it, date it, or set a small mirror or clock face into the recess. Around it, pairs of acanthus scrolls curl outward in near-perfect symmetry, their tips rolling into tight volutes at top, bottom and both sides, so the finished ornament reads like a small baroque shield. It works as a crowning centrepiece above a doorway, on a headboard, or on the top rail of a cabinet, anywhere a plain oval medallion wants a decorative surround. Cut notes • The open scroll tips are the fiddly part; leave small holding tabs and clean them by hand so the delicate curls do not snap off the spoilboard. • A 3 mm ball-nose roughing pass then a 1 mm finishing pass captures the rolled volutes without scorching fine wood. • Keep the central oval as a flat finishing pass so it stays smooth enough to engrave later. • Scales down for jewellery-box lids or up for over-mantel display, and prints just as happily in resin as a glue-on onlay.