The oldest examples of sculpted wood are the carved capitals from the Holy Apostles Monastery on the island of Sevan; they may be contemporary with the building of the church in 874 or slightly later. They are richly and deeply carved with floral scrolls, birds, six pointed stars, and crosses. Several folding wooden lecterns, undoubtedly from churches, are preserved in the Armenian Historical Museum. They date from the eleventh to the thirteenth century and are elaborately carved with geometric designs, birds, and in one case a lion rampant.
The craft of wood craving continues to flourish in Armenia. In villages utilitarian items for the household, especially kitchen utensils, are still delicately fashioned. The Folk Arts Museum in Erevan has an impressive collection of nineteenth and twentieth century wood carving. Hand carved gifts of very high quality are also readily available in shops in Erevan.
The single non-functional wooden sculpture that has survived from the early period is the wooden panel offered by Gregory Magistros in 1031 to the church of Havuts' T'ar. The panel, now in the Treasury at Etchmiadzin, shows Christ being removed from the cross by Nicodemus and Joseph of Armathea. The simple but delicate carving and the unusually expressive quality of Christ being removed from the cross help to create one of the masterpieces of Armenian sculpture. The iconography is unique in Christian art, because it incorporates the elements of the Trinity: the hand of God, the dove of the Holy Spirit, and Christ. The panel, regarded by some as a wooden icon, was much admired in the thirteenth century and may have had an influence on khach'k'ars of the period.