 For models, he preferred to create models derived from ancient statuary, and his small studio contained drawings, carvings and models taken from the antique, or by the artists of the previous centuries.In pieces of wood the size of a nut, he was able to carve stories with multiple figures and objects, such as a passion scene of Christ, complete with a crown of thorns on the head of Christ.Or he would carve a surface full of tiny figures of two armies in battle, thin arabesques intertwining across the scene.