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There are only 135 known miniature boxwood carvings and they have been puzzling art specialists all over the world. Recently,

 researchers have gathered some of these tiny religious pieces from museums and private collections to further study their secrets 

and have found a few very interesting answers.

It is thought that these wooden carvings were made during only a brief time frame, between 1500 and 1530 either in Flanders or

 the Netherlands. 

The rise of a new merchant social class in Europe created a market demand for high-quality portable religious carvings. 

However, soon the Reformation began and a lot of church-related accessories went out of fashion, including the miniature boxwood 

pieces.

Using micro-CT scanning and Advanced 3D Analysis Software, researchers found out just how intricate these miniature altars really are.

 The inner layers are pieced together, hiding the joints so completely, that only a microscope or an X-ray can detect them. 

The pieces also incorporate pins, smaller than a grass seed.

 However, much of the production process remains unknown, because traces of gold and other decoration materials conceal 

the X-ray views.

Researchers took these 500-year-old miniature boxwood carvings to the lab to find out their secrets

They think these miniatures were made between 1500 and 1530 in Flanders or the Netherlands

The human eye isn’t able to analyze details this tiny

So researchers used micro-CT scanning and Advanced 3D Analysis Software

To find out how intricate the pieces really are

They found joints in the inner layers so tiny that only a microscope or an X-ray can detect them

And pins, smaller than a grass seed

But even the advanced technology couldn’t see everything

Because traces of gold and other decoration materials conceal the X-ray views

The miniatures were a result of a rising new social class in Europe that created a demand for 

these high-quality portable religious carvings

However, soon the Reformation began and a lot of church-related accessories went out of fashion